A Meowsy Potion
by swirlheart
Summary: Sasuke and Neji have never been the same after drinking that potion. They love milk, fish and sunbathing. But they're also hate dogs and water. But nothing has changed on the outside. Could it be that they are turning into cats on the inside? R&R Please!
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Naruto! I just wanted to turn them into cats because I have nothing better to do. That and I'm a crazy fan! ^-^

**Chapter 1:**

It had all started out so simply. How did it all end up so wrong?

It all started when Sasuke heard about a new training technique. He had heard about it before, but had never seen it used nor did he even know how to perform it. But while returning from another mission with his team, Sasuke found a woman by the side of the road selling merchandise. Kakashi and Naruto pressed on and Sakura soon followed after learning that the woman wasn't carrying anything interesting, like perfumes or make-up. But Sasuke stayed when he saw a small thick book titled 'learn a rare ninja technique fast and easy! Just brew and drink!'

Sasuke held up the book. "What is this load of junk?"

The woman smiled at him. "Load? Perhaps. Junk? Far from it. Why don't you open the book and look inside?"

So he did and found that there was a small bottle inside. "What's this?"

"That's what you drink in order to learn the technique. Just follow the instructions and in no time at all you'll have learned a rare, new ninja art. It's never been easier."

But he wasn't so sure. "So let me get this straight… You just drink this stuff and you learn a whole new ninja technique? Just like that?"

" Yes."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's ridiculous. What about hard work and training?"

"Drinking that is the training. It builds up your body so that you can handle it. Only really strong ninja can master it. But if you don't think that you're that type then…"

Sasuke slapped the money down on the table. "I'll take it."

And with that, Sasuke made his first big mistake.

The second mistake happened when he brought the strange concoction back home with him and tried to test it out.

"Let me see! Let me see!"

"Naruto, quit acting like a baby!"

"I'm not! Just let me see it!"

"Ragh! You're impossible!" Sasuke snarled and went back to mixing the potion in the small kitchen pot. Ever since Naruto had heard of what he had brought back, he wouldn't shut up about it! The blond idiot kept bouncing around, begging to have a look.

Neji came into the room with the rest of the ingredients. "Here, hope you're happy."

"Ecstatic," Sasuke said in monotone. He mixed them in the small pot, turning the liquid an odd purple color. "I think it's about ready."

Neji scoffed. "I'm still skeptical about this whole thing. You actually think that you can train just by drinking that concoction?"

"We'll find out soon enough. Pass the cups."

Naruto rested his chin on the countertop and whined. "I wanna know what it does..!"

"Shut up!"

Neji handed Sasuke the cups. Sasuke turned off the stove and began to pour the potion into the two cups.

"Wait… There are only two there…" Naruto's eyes widened brightly. "So the other one is mine, right?"

"Nope." Sasuke handed Neji the second cup.

"What?! That's not fair! Why's he get some?!"

Sasuke snorted. "Because he helped me make it and he wants to see if the stuff works for himself."

"So do I! Me, too! I want to know, too! Come on!" Naruto grabbed the pot and looked inside. It was empty. "That's not fair! You took it all!"

"It was a small quantity. Can't be helped."

"Besides, in order for it to work we need to drink the right amount, which just so happens to be a cup's worth."

Naruto stomped his foot on the ground like a bratty child. "But I want some, too!"

"Stop being such a baby!"

"I am not! I just think it's not fair that you guys get to learn a super awesome new technique and I don't! And why's Neji get to have some? I would have helped you make it! Share!"

"Neji's the only one around here who knows how to cook half as good as the next person. I can't trust you with something like that. You would have ruined it."

"I'll take that remark as a complement," Neji muttered.

Before Naruto could protest any further, the two ninja raised their cups to their lips and drained them. Naruto watched helplessly as the potion was gone in a matter of seconds. The two pulled their cups away from their mouths making bitter faces in disgust.

"Ugh! That stuff's nasty!"

"Gross! It's like drinking boiled grass and vomit!"

Naruto watched them both carefully. "Well? Do you feel any different?"

They both looked down at their bodies and then to each other.

"No, not at all. You?"

"Not a thing."

Sasuke groaned. "Great! All that money for nothing! It doesn't even work!"

"What was it supposed to do anyway?"

"Who knows? It was supposed to help you train in order to learn a new technique." Sasuke put the pot in the sink. "What a rip-off!"

Neji looked at his watch. "It's getting late. I've got to get going. Too bad it didn't work. I would have liked to know what was supposed to happen."

"Oh, yeah! That reminds me!" Naruto snapped his fingers. "Kakashi-sensei told me to remind you that we have training tomorrow. You better show up."

"Of course I will." Sasuke looked back at the open book on the counter which held the steps to making the potion. _What a joke! I should have kept my money… Oh, well. Maybe I learn something during training tomorrow_.

* * *

Well, it's a start. Trust me; it's going to get funnier. If you've read my fanfics before, you know what to expect. ^-^

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: **

It wasn't until the next day that things really started to get weird. It was a typical day, bright and sunny. Kakashi had just taken his squad out to the training grounds for some drills. It had turned into yet another 'catch Kakashi' competition. They were told to capture Kakashi before lunch. The rules were very simple: use what you could and tie him up once captured. That was it.

The three genin were ready. Kakashi was given a five minute head start and the others had to come and find him. Sakura took charge and told them what they should do. However, every time Sasuke had something to say, she would immediately stop and go with whatever he had to say, telling him how brilliant he was.

Five minutes later, they set out on a Kakashi hunt. They moved in triangle formation: Sasuke on the left, Sakura on the right and Naruto in the middle. Within minutes, their sensei was spotted and they attacked. As expected, a head-on attack was a huge failure, but that was exactly what they wanted. They were going to try to get Kakashi to let his guard down and lure him into a trap they were setting up ahead. So far, he was moving straight for it.

Sasuke smirked. This was working out very well. Now all he had to do was get into position and jump on Kakashi when the time came and they would win for once. This was too easy.

Something fluttered out of his peripheral vision and he turned his head to look. It might have been an attack set by Kakashi. But it wasn't. It was just a butterfly.

He rolled his eyes and looked straight ahead again. It was only a stupid little butterfly. It was no big deal.

But then, why couldn't he put it out of his mind?

He looked back at it. It fluttered closer to him. Sasuke stood on the tree branch and watched it flutter. It was rather pretty. It was fun to watch. The wings were so colorful.

Sasuke had completely forgotten about his current mission and watched the butterfly instead. It danced this way and that. As it came closer to his face, Sasuke leaned forward, unable to take his eyes off of it for a second. For a moment, the butterfly landed on the tip of his nose before flying off again. His nose twitched and he leaned back, blinking curiously. The butterfly was getting away. Sasuke crouched low on the branch and crawled after it. When it got to the edge of the branch, Sasuke stopped, realizing that he could go no further. But that didn't stop him from watching it.

It danced on the air, teasing him. Sasuke crouched low, preparing to pounce. As the butterfly made its way to the other side of the tree, Sasuke leapt from his perch in an attempt to grab it in his open hands. He missed and plummeted to the ground. But he didn't mind at all. He landed in the grass on his feet, completely unhurt and turned his head skyward.

The butterfly was still there, fluttering freely.

A strange feeling came over Sasuke at that moment and it was one that could only be described in one word: playful. He was feeling playful for the first time in God only knew how long. He had missed it so much. It felt wonderful. He felt wonderful. Smiling like a fool, Sasuke began to chase after the butterfly, feeling every bit as free as his target.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Naruto were in place and ready to win for once against their sensei. As Kakashi came into place, Sakura used a flurry of tiny exploding tags and a smoke bomb. The plan was to disorient Kakashi and lure him closer. Naruto was up next. He and several clones jumped out of their hiding places and jumped on him.

"Sasuke, now!"

No movement. No sound. Not even a word from the third member of their team.

"Sasuke! Are you deaf, you idiot?! I said-"

Kakashi wrapped his arms around the real Naruto and restrained him, while holding a kunai to Sakura's neck. They couldn't make a move. He had won yet again.

That being said, he released his hold on Naruto and put his kunai away. He smiled at them from behind his dark mask. "So close. It was a good try. Maybe next time. So, who's hungry?"

Naruto pouted. "It's not fair! We would have gotten you if Sasuke had showed up like he was supposed to!"

Sakura's face turned a little pale from worry. "You don't think he's hurt, do you? It's not like him to not show up at all like that."

Kakashi looked back into the trees. "It wouldn't hurt to find out. Let's have a look."

Sasuke was having a wonderful time playing with the butterfly. He never felt so alive. Not a care or worry in the world. He chuckled and laughed every time the butterfly went near him, tickled him, or fluttered over his head. Basically, he was giggling a good part of the time.

"Sasuke! Sasuke, where are you?"

"Hey, jerk, get out here!"

Hearing the familiar voices of his friends, Sasuke snapped out his odd state and turned around, letting the butterfly go. Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi walked between the trees and over to him. "Oh. What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?!" Naruto snapped.

Sakura pushed past him and over to her crush. "Oh, Sasuke, are you hurt anywhere? Are you feeling ok? Do you have a fever?"

"I'm fine. Why?"

"It's because of you that we lost!" Naruto shouted angrily. "And you call me an idiot!"

Sasuke blinked. "Oh. Oh! I- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I just…" He looked back into the tree he had been perched in what only felt like moments ago. "I must have lost myself," he said more to himself than anyone else.

"As long as you're ok."

Kakashi looked at his watch. "Well, how about some lunch?"

~*~*~

This time, Sakura got to pick where they were going to eat. She picked a nice little restaurant that served sushi. Naruto put in his usual request for ramen but was outvoted. Sakura filled up her plate at the self-serve sushi and salad bar and picked a table. Naruto pouted about how he hated this stuff while piling up his plate with the very food he was criticizing.

Sasuke took his time eyeing all the open bar had to offer. It all looked so good. He had always been a fan of sushi, but there was sometime about it today that made it irresistible in his eyes. He grabbed as much as he could and went back to the table.

Naturally, Sakura sat next to him in the booth while Naruto took the seat across from him. Kakashi chose to sit next to him with his back to the wall, reading his book. He was the only one without food. He claimed he was on a diet.

They broke their chopsticks and dug in.

When Sasuke lifted the fish to his mouth, he nearly wept tears of joy. It was so good! Far better than he ever remembered. This fish was the best in the world! He stuffed his mouth full with the sweet, sweet sushi as if it were going to be taken away before he had time to finish. It was so good!

"Uh… Sasuke?"

"Hm?"

Naruto gave him a grossed out expression. "Why are you eating like that?"

Sasuke wasn't aware that he was doing anything wrong. Then again, he was eating rather quickly. Was that the reason why Naruto was giving him that look? "What's wrong with how I eat?"

"Slow down, would you? It'll be here all day."

"Shut up! I've starving and haven't eaten all freakin' day!"

"Sheesh! Sensitive, aren't we?"

He gave Naruto a death-glare. "I swear, one more remark about how I eat and I'm gonna put you through the wall."

"Jeez. Sorry." Naruto went back to eating.

~*~*~

Now that was weird. He had liked fish, sure, but never that much. Maybe he was hungrier than he thought and that's what made it taste so good to him. Being really hungry always made things taste better. What did he have to worry about? He was being ridiculous.

He and Naruto left Sakura back at her house and made their way back towards their homes side by side. Naruto was yapping about something, but Sasuke wasn't listening. He knew it was about something stupid. However, he did manage to pick up on one word.

"Kiba!"

Sasuke looked up and spotted Kiba and Akamaru walking towards them down the same street. Kiba waved and his little dog barked in greeting.

Sasuke felt strange. He couldn't take his eyes off of Kiba's dog for an instant. Not only that, but he was starting to shake. He could feel the sweat running down his brow and down his face. His breathing quickened. All of this was involuntary and he had no idea why this was happening to him. Why did looking at that little dog make him feel this way?

Akamaru bounded towards them happily and gave another loud bark.

Seeing those sharp teeth and hearing that bark was all it took to make Sasuke freak out. With a yelp, Sasuke jumped straight up into a tree.

Kiba slowed and stood beside Naruto, looking up into the tree. "What's with him?"

"I don't know. Hey, Sasuke, you ok? What's wrong?"

Clinging to a branch, Sasuke cautiously looked down at them. He had no idea why he just did that.

"Sasuke, what the hell's gotten into you?"

He didn't answer. A ninja clinging to a tree branch for dear life, how embarrassing! Worst of all, he was still shaking. He gulped and tried not to look too pathetic. Warily, he looked down. The little dog was still standing under the tree looking up at him, tail wagging. He yipped and Sasuke hid his face in his arm with a whimper. Akamaru scared him.

Well, there was nothing manly about that statement. Sasuke Uchiha scared of a puppy dog. He was never going to live this down. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't any witnesses around, but as luck would have it, both Naruto and Kiba were there to witness the whole thing. Come to think of it, he didn't like the look of Kiba's fangs either. They also made him feel edgy.

"Sasuke, come down from there!"

He refused to budge. "I'm quite comfortable, thank you." In truth, he wasn't. Would you be comfortable in his situation? The only thing he liked about this was the fact that he was up high in a tree, far away from the dog. Actually, he really liked being up high. It was comfortable.

Kiba gave a nervous chuckle and called Akamaru to his side. "I can see you have a situation here so I'll be on my way. See you."

Sasuke watched from the branch as they left. Once they were out of sight, he climbed down from the tree.

Naruto looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. "What the heck was that about?"

Embarrassed about the whole thing, Sasuke tried his best to make it look like it was nothing at all. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Later that night, Sasuke paced his room, plagued by the event that happened that day. What was happening to him? First it was the butterfly, then the sushi, and then a sudden phobia of dogs? What did it all mean? He tried to look at it logically, but he could find no explanation. As far as he could tell, he was going out of his mind.

"I've got to figure this out," he told himself. "I can't be losing my sanity. But then why am I acting this way? What's happening to me?"

He poured himself a glass of milk and lapped it down with his tongue. He had no idea what he was doing. It was all so natural to him, he didn't even notice the change in etiquette. As he lapped up the milk, a stray lock of dark hair fell into his face. He licked the back of his hand and brushed it against his hair, guiding it back into place. He licked his hand a second time and did it again. It wasn't until he prepared to do it a third time that he knew that something was amiss.

Gasping in shock, he pulled his hand away and dropped the glass, shattering upon impact with the hard wooden floor.

"Oh, my God, I'm turning into a cat!"

* * *

Please review!** ^-^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: **

Sasuke was overcome with strange new feelings he was unable to decipher. Overnight, he had become obsessed with fish, hated water, was frightened of dogs and was fascinated by anything fluttery. He simply could not resist the urge to dance with the butterflies or bat at something shiny. He had no idea why he could not control himself or even why he had actually succumbed to these urges. It was mind boggling!

Sasuke couldn't sleep that night, but he was certainly making it up this morning. It was 10:30, the latest he had ever slept in when he wasn't very ill. As a child, when he got sick, he usually slept until noon. But then he had a good reason to. Now he was nothing short of lazy. He snuggled deep into his warm, soft, comfy blanket and sighed blissfully. It felt so good to sleep. It was so nice and warm. He should sleep the day away more often. He loved the feeling of the sun on his back. It was a good idea leaving the window open last night.

"Sasuke!"

Scratch that.

Naruto was standing outside on the street shouting up to his window. "Sasuke! Wake up you lazy bum! Let's go!"

He buried his face in the pillow. There was no way he was leaving this bed anytime soon.

"Come on! Kakashi-sensei is waiting for us! For once he's on time and you're late! Come on already!"

He didn't budge an inch. There was nothing Naruto could do to tear him away from this bed.

"Wake up!"

The only thing that got Sasuke out of bed was Naruto's shoe soaring through the open window and into his head. Sasuke threw off the covers and stormed over to the window. "What do you want, you freaking loser?!"

"Ah, good, you're up." Naruto smiled brightly at him. "Come on, let's go. We got training to do. You sure are lazy today, huh, Sasuke?"

"I'll show you lazy!" Sasuke threw Naruto's shoe out the window, striking him in the head.

"OW!"

~*~*~

Training was rewarding but tiring. All the running and jumping and throwing and dodging and all the jutsus… It was a lot of work.

Before long, it was time for a lunch break. The three of them walked over to a nearby tree and sat down. Naruto and Sakura pulled out their lunchboxes while Sasuke stood there and watched. He had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten to pack a lunch for himself. What a disappointment!

But Sakura was always willing to share with him. A fact he wasn't too happy about. Rather than give her the satisfaction of knowing how hungry he was and the fact that he had no food on him, Sasuke played it cool and simply sat with his back to the tree.

In no time at all, his stomach started to growl. He was so hungry. But he couldn't allow himself to ask her for scraps. But soon a familiar smell drifted through the air.

He sniffed and followed the smell back to her open lunchbox. His mouth started to water. He peered over her hand and spotted what was making his nose twitch: Fresh salmon. He licked his lips and inched closer.

"Is that… what I think it is..?"

She looked up at him. "Oh, hi! It's leftovers from this morning's breakfast. I thought I'd bring some for lunch."

"Is that… salmon?" he drooled.

"Yup!"

He gulped. The urge was too great. He was drawn to it like a moth to flame. "May I… have some?"

Her eyes got as round as dinner plates. She never thought that Sasuke would ever ask her for food before. Was he actually willing and wanting to share lunch with her? "You want to share?" Her voice was unusually high.

His pride got in the way of his imploring, so he made the idea of begging more diplomatic. "If you're offering…"

Overjoyed, Sakura picked up her chopsticks and dig into her lunchbox. She tore off a chunk of fish and hovered it in front of his mouth. "Say 'ahh'."

As desperate as he was, there was no way in hell he was going to let her feed him like a baby. Ignoring her gesture, he took the fish off her chopsticks with his fingers and ate it. The moment the salty salmon touched his tongue, Sasuke's eyes sparkled. It was divine! Not waiting for her to offer him more, he reached inside and took out another piece. The second piece was even better than the first. Sakura didn't even seem to mind him digging through her food with his fingers. She was just so happy to be sharing with her crush.

After all the fish was eaten, Sasuke told himself that enough was enough and stopped eating. He quickly grunted a 'thank you' and moved to the other side of the tree away from her. He couldn't believe he had just done that.

The raven-haired boy looked up at the sky. Sunlight was shining down between the leaves, warming his legs. He could just barely see the clouds peeking through the branches. There was something pleasant about this time of day that he liked so much. Though he had never noticed it before, he found it all so strangely relaxing.

Normally, he avoided stretching around Sakura out of fear of her noticing his abs when his shirt lifted up. But with her being on the other side of the tree, he decided that it would be ok just this once and stretched his hands up toward the sky. His back arched and his knees bent. He threw his head back and let out a moan of pleasure. It felt wonderful. He allowed his arms to fall back at his sides with a sigh. That felt so good. He was nice and limp now, feeling much more relaxed.

For the first time that day, he was fully aware of what he was doing and no longer cared. Not when it felt this good. His stomach was satisfied, his body was warm and relaxed and he felt great. He felt good. Good and sleepy. That's right. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that night and Naruto woke him up before he was finished napping this morning. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to take just a little nap. Who could pass up such a perfect opportunity on such a perfectly warm day under a perfectly shady tree? The situation just screamed for it, and who was he to deny fate?

And so, Sasuke stretched out on the grass and allowed his eyes to close. Unbeknownst to him, Sasuke was slowly slumping to his right, exactly where Naruto was sitting, slurping up instant ramen. Drawn to his warmth, Sasuke fell onto Naruto's shoulder. The blond jolted with surprise and looked down.

"Uh…"

Sasuke snored lightly.

Naruto nudged him. "Ahem."

He snuggled closer.

"Sasuke?"

He rolled onto Naruto's lap and curled up into a ball. He looked very comfortable there. But Naruto wasn't having it. He jabbed him in the forehead with his chopsticks. Sasuke merely batted his hand away and hid his face. Naruto poked him again and this time Sasuke reacted with a moan of discomfort. Sasuke was just as obstinate in his sleep as he was wake.

"Hey, Sasuke…"

Sasuke mumbled something into Naruto's leg.

"Sasuke?"

"What?"

"You're kind of sleeping on me."

He rubbed his eyes with the back of his fist. "So?"

"So why are you doing that?"

Sasuke wasn't close to being coherent yet. He was still groggy despite being asleep for only a few seconds. He yawned and tried to go back to sleep.

"I said why, Sasuke. Why?"

"I'm sleepy…" he answered softly.

"Come on! Haven't you slept enough? You're the one who made us late today, after all."

Sasuke didn't answer this time. He was too tired.

Naruto gave him a rough shove. "Sasuke!"

"Oh, my God, what?!" He sprang up and glared at Naruto an inch from his face. "Can't I nap in peace?!"

"Not on me, you can't!"

Kakashi came over at that moment to investigate. "Alright, what's going on here?"

Naruto pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke. "He was sleeping on top of me! Make him stop!"

"Alright, alright, Naruto, you're acting like a child."

"I am not! Why is everyone saying that?"

Now fully awake, Sasuke crawled away from Naruto and tucked his legs up close to his chest. Cuddling now?! What was happening to him? Why was he acting like a freaking cat? What could have…?

The potion! That must have been it! He only started acting this way after he had taken it. That must have been the cause.

But if that were the case, then Neji must have been going through the same thing.

~*~*~

If anything, Neji's afternoon was turning out just as bad as Sasuke's. Ever since drinking that potion, he had done nothing but crave fish and milk. For dinner last night, Neji had bought himself a dinner of nothing but fish. He feasted on cans of tuna, packaged sushi, smoked salmon and herring. It was all so delicious!

But later on he found that he couldn't sleep. He was too wired for some reason and couldn't rest. Since when had he become a night owl? In the morning, however, he found himself in a deep comfortable sleep. He slept in until noon and then he only awoke to eat.

He had some more fish then decided to go back to bed. As soon as he pulled back the covers, he stopped.

"Wait a minute…" he thought aloud. "Since when do I ever sleep in this late? Half the day is shot already. I'm never this lazy! Am I turning into Shikamaru or something?"

But the bed was calling to him. Refusing to give in, he took a stroll onto the small balcony of his house and watched traffic. He had never made it a habit of his to go people-watching like some stalker, but he had done it before. Just observing, mostly. He found it interesting to see what people did, studying their mannerisms.

Looking down, he could see several different people passing by: older women shopping, couples taking walks, old people shuffling around and small children playing ninja. That took him back to his childhood. He was never allowed to play ninja with the other children as he was expected to become one himself, without question. His father often told him not to take part in those foolish games. They had to uphold the family honor and not being of the main branch made it that much more vital to be looked upon with respect. They had an image to uphold, after all. Therefore, he was never allowed to run around and play with other kids. Instead he was expected to train hard and study. Sad childhood, right? He never thought of it that way. If it hadn't been for those rules he may never have become as strong as he was.

"Hey, Neji!"

He looked to his left and saw Tenten waving up at him. "Hi."

"What are you doing up there all by yourself? Come on! Lee wants to show us something."

He rolled his eyes. "Ugh, not another ridiculous technique he named after Gai... Fine, let's get this over with." He hopped down and joined her.

The walk to the training grounds was, for the most part, uneventful. That is, unless you count the fact that Neji flinched every time he heard a dog bark or howl. Strange, he was never this skittish before. Normally, he didn't mind dogs.

"I'm telling you, he was freaking out!"

Neji looked and saw Kiba telling his teammates about what had happened earlier.

"He took one look at Akamaru and jumped into a tree! I am not kidding!"

Hinata gave him a timid look. "Do you think he is afraid of dogs or… uh… something?"

"Never has been before as far as I know."

Shino spoke up. "He could have had a traumatic experience with one recently. That's been known to cause phobias."

"Yeah, but that quick, Shino?"

"It's been known to happen. They're called sudden phobias for that reason."

Kiba snorted. "I doubt it. I think he's just being a moron. He was fine with Akamaru a couple days ago, right boy?"

"Bark! Bark!"

Instinctively, Neji side stepped and used Tenten as a shield to protect himself from the little dog. There was something about that bark that frightened him.

When they finally made it to the training grounds, they found Lee balancing several buckets of water on his person. One was on his head, he had four on each arm, two in each hand and one in his mouth and he was teetering on a round red ball.

"Don't tell me…" Neji groaned.

"Diz iz a moo tanin exermize," Lee struggled, the handle of the bucket still in his teeth."

"Huh?"

"I think he said 'this is a new training exercise'."

Lee nodded.

Tenten slapped her forehead. "Lee…"

"Diz iz- WHAA!" The ball rolled too far and threw Lee onto the grass. The buckets went bottom-up and drenched him in water. But the one in his mouth ended up flying through the air and sloshed its contents all over Neji.

It took him all but one second for the sensation of moister to kick in and Neji went crazy.

"AHH! Get it off! Get it OFF!" Neji ran around in circles, twisting and turning his body in all directions trying to fling the wet off his body. He hated the feeling of being wet, hated it! It was not pleasant at all. He threw himself to the ground and rolled around in the grass trying to dry himself. When that didn't work, he finally peeled off his jacket and tossed it aside. He sat in the grass, panting. Thank goodness that was over.

"Uh…"

Remembering that he wasn't alone, Neji's relieved expression quickly turned to shock as he looked up into the shocked faced staring back at him. Any words he would have said died in his throat.

He just threw a tantrum over a little bit of water in front of everyone, didn't he? Why did he just do that? How embarrassing! What in the world was happening to him?

* * *

HA! They're getting cute! Any ideas, people? I can put something in if you want. Just let me know.

And please review! ^-^


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: **

He had to keep calm. He couldn't let this get to him. So he was acting like a cat. That wasn't too bad, right? At least he wasn't turning into one… was he? No claws, no tail… So far so good. Sasuke was at wits end. After what had happened under the tree, he had rushed home and started to flip through the small book that held all the details of the potion in it. But it wasn't helpful at all. It never mentioned anywhere in its pages as to what was happening to him.

"That damn woman tricked me!" He threw the book against the wall. "How could I let this happen to me?! God, I'm so stupid! Ok, calm down. Maybe it'll just wear off after a while or something. Yeah, that's it. I just have to wait it out."

There was a knock on the front door. He hurried downstairs and answered it. The moment the door was open, he found himself face-to-face with Neji. And he didn't look happy.

"You!" he seethed.

"Uh…" Sasuke took a step back. "So you found out, huh?"

"Oh, yeah, did I ever!" Neji pushed him back into the house and kicked the door shut, locking it. Now they were all alone in the house with no escape. "How the hell could you do this to me?!"

"Me?!"

"Yeah, you! You're the idiot who told me to drink that crap!"

"You didn't say 'no' and you could have! It's not like I forced it down your throat!"

"You told me that it was for training! You lied!"

"I did not! If anything that woman lied to me! I'm only repeating what she said! It was supposed to be!"

"Well, it didn't work!"

"Stop shouting at me! It's not going to change anything!"

Neji threw up his hands and the shouting stopped. "Ok, ok, alright. Ah, so what now? How long does this last?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"You're kidding…"

"Well, sorry!" Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Look, we are the only ones who know about this, right? Let's just try to keep a low profile and wait this out, ok?"

"Why don't we just go to the Hokage for a cure?"

Sasuke raised a brow at him. "Why don't you?"

The Hyuga pride is what stopped him from seeking help from an outside source, especially when it was his own fault for drinking it in the first place. It was too embarrassing to walk up to her and ask her to make them stop acting like cats. She'd laugh and he knew it. Everyone knew she would. He just couldn't take that kind of punishment. Her laughter was too much to bear, holding nothing but mockery and taunts. Like hell he'd ask her for help!

Maybe Sasuke was right and all they had to do was wait it out. How bad could it be?

~*~*~

It was far more trying than they thought it would be. Their first instinct was to stay inside for as long as possible. But two active ninja such as themselves wouldn't stay still for long and became very restless.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes and looked at Neji. "Hey."

"Hm?"

"I've been really tired today. Any idea why that is?"

"You're a cat, right? They sleep a lot."

"Just how long do they sleep?"

"About 18 hours a day."

Sasuke banged his head on the floor.

"Yeah, so get used to being lazy. You're going to be sleeping a hell of a lot now."

Sasuke sat up. "Not now, I'm not. I'm just bored, not tired. I'm going out."

"You sure about that? What about keeping a low pro-"

"That didn't mean being prisoner in my own house. I'm going for a walk."

Neji snorted. "Cats are also loners. They like to be left alone, much like you. Maybe this transformation is fitting for you."

"Shut up."

Outside, Sasuke was greeted by the warm sun and the laughter of children. He liked taking walks through the woods where trees could shade him from the light. So that was his destination. He walked along the dirt path covered with dead leaves and sticks. As he walked, one of his feet snagged against a twig and snapped it, startling a few birds from above.

He watched them fly away with hungry eyes. He had the sudden craving for birds. They looked so juicy. He shook the thought from his mind and continued his walk. He had to shake it off and resist. Now he was craving birds?! At least fish he could understand, but birds? He hated this so much.

Without even thinking, he started to climb up a tree. Once he realized what he was doing, he was too far along to stop. He climbed higher and higher until the branches became too thick. He crouched on the branch he was on and observed his new surroundings from this unfamiliar perspective.

It was a wonderful sight. He could see for miles. All the rooftops looked so small from here. He was surrounded by trees but they no longer towered over him making him feel so small and inferior. Now he felt as if he were among them as a whole. He was a part of their continuous jungle. He felt so wild and free up here. He enjoyed it all so much.

He had completely forgotten about all his troubles and worries. He felt like an animal just released from its cage, now free to explore the world. Sasuke stretched out on the branch, laying on his stomach and chest. He pulled his arms up under his chin and rested, enjoying the beautiful scenery. He could stay like this forever.

~*~*~

Naruto kicked a stone down the path as he walked. He had just been shot down yet again by Sakura. All he wanted was a date. _Why did she have to be so cruel?_ _She could have just said 'no, not today' instead of 'drop dead, freak'. Why did she have to be so mean?_

A single leaf fell and landed on his head. He shook it off and looked up into the tree. Sasuke was laying across one of the branches in a light doze. "Sleeping again? He must be really tired. Hey, Sasuke!"

His ear twitched at his name. Opening his eyes very slowly, Sasuke looked down and spotted Naruto. "Ugh, not you again."

"Hey, is that any way to greet a friend? Don't be so mean." Naruto put his hands on his hips. "What are you doing up there?"

"Avoiding you, loser."

"Be nice."

Sasuke jumped down from his perch and landed skillfully next to Naruto on his feet. There was nothing odd about that. Every good ninja landed on their feet.

Naruto patted his shoulder. "Geez, Sasuke. Try getting some sleep at night, huh? First you fall asleep on me, now in a tree. Get eight hours in, ok?"

_Yeah, plus ten more_… "What are you doing out here, anyway? Stalking me?"

"No!" Naruto folded his arms and turned away. "I was bored! Pervy Sage hasn't come back yet to train me."

"And?"

"And I've been waiting! I'm so bored! We haven't been on a mission in forever!"

"It's only been two days!"

They walked side by side down the dirt path. Naruto annoyed Sasuke with his constant yapping while the Uchiha remained silent. If Naruto didn't let it all out now, he was only going to be worse later. Besides, he had gotten a lot of practice on ignoring people with Sakura. It was nothing he couldn't handle.

After a while they heard a strange sound. They both stopped in their tracks and listened. It was getting louder. It was someone screaming. They jumped back as a terrified Neji came racing out of nowhere past them, screaming his head off. Following closely behind him was a rather large dog barking playfully.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh. "Aw, look. They're playing." He had absolutely no idea that Neji was really scared of that dog. It was no game, though the dog thought it was and continued to chase after him.

Sasuke eeped and hid behind Naruto.

The dog turned and discovered the two possible playmates and came closer. Naruto chuckled and bent lower to pet it. But he stopped when he felt Sasuke grab hold of both his shoulders and used him as a human shield. "What's up with you?"

Sasuke whimpered despite himself.

"It's just a little dog. See?" He squatted down and patted the dog's head.

Realizing that his shield had gotten closer to the beast, Sasuke preceded to climb up Naruto's back and onto his shoulders. He sat atop Naruto's head, whimpering in fear.

"Ow! Hey, get off!" Naruto thrashed about. It really hurt! Sasuke was heavy. "I said hey! It's just a dog!"

Sasuke screamed and scrambled up the nearest tree he could find. Ironically, Neji happened to be in the same tree, clinging to one of the top branches. How pathetic.

The dog, having lost interest, trotted away leaving Naruto to talk the two ninja down from the tree.

"What's gotten into you guys?"

Neither one of them answered. They were still shaking and whimpering. Even with the dog long gone, they still hadn't recovered from their fear yet.

"Fine! Stay up there all day if you want. I don't care." Naruto marched off. "If you need me, I'll be training by myself."

The two cat-boys watched him go. Finally calm enough, they looked at each other.

"This sucks!"

"Tell me about it."

Neji sighed. "All I did was leave your place for a second and the next thing I know, I'm being hounded by this stupid dog!"

"So you ran like a little girl…"

"Who's the one stuck in a tree himself?"

Sasuke didn't answer.

"I can't believe we're afraid of dogs! How pathetic!"

"I know, I know. This is going to be a living hell."

~*~*~

They couldn't be more right. Later that day, both teams were sent away on separate missions. Kakashi took his genin to a village in the east and Gai took his group to a small town northwest. This wasn't going to end well. Why? Because of the fact that the village Kakashi's team was going to happened to be surrounded by water, not to mention that the village is most popular for its open fountains and springs. The town Gai was taking his team to wasn't all that exciting. The only thing that attracted a crowd was the dog show, which they just so happened to be assigned to oversee. This was not good at all.

* * *

Uh-oh! Bad news for them, huh?

Please review! ^-^


	5. Chapter 5

I have a pic of Sasuke sleeping on Naruto from chapter 3 on deviantART XD Go check it out! It's under Swirlheart, same as on fanfiction.

**Chapter 5: **

Just by looking at it, Sasuke knew he hated it so much and wasn't going to enjoy this mission at all. The entire village was surrounded by water and there was even more on the inside. Beyond the gates, everywhere he looked there were ponds, fountains, springs, and a small river. Water everywhere. He was going to hate this so much. He hated getting wet.

After checking in, Kakashi turned to his team. "Ok, this is simple. We're to build a fence to keep animals from stealing the koi fish in the ponds. Make sure you keep any animal you find away from the fish. We don't need any more stolen. Got it?"

At first Naruto was pumped up, but then his jaw dropped. "Wait a minute… This sounds like a D ranked mission!"

"It is."

"What?!"

"Just do it, you idiot!" Sakura shook her fist at him. This was an easy mission and there was no way she was going to let Naruto talk them out of such an easy thing. It didn't involve too much energy and the possibility of getting ambushed. She was willing to do this as long as she would be by Sasuke's side.

They got started at once. It was boring and hard work, but a mission was a mission. They hammered supports into the ground and started putting up the wooden fence. Naruto did nothing but complain about how this was a huge waste of his skills and worked furiously in hopes of finishing before Sasuke.

The Uchiha worked hard hammering and nailing. He agreed with Naruto that this was a waste of their skills but it was something they had to do. Halfway through working, Sasuke heard a splash.

_Oh, no_.

He looked at the pond. The koi fish were swimming gracefully in the water. They swam this way and that, circling each other in a mesmerizing display. Slowly, Sasuke inched closer to the pond, watching them hungrily. The white and orange fish continued to swim, unaware of the danger lurking above them. Like a cat on the prowl, Sasuke crouched on the flat stones framing the pond and watched them closely, licking his lips.

What a fitting snack. He had been working so hard, he deserved a tasty fish. Crouching on the stones, Sasuke raised his right hand above the water. When one of the fish came swimming too close to the edge he struck. With the skill and precision of a true ninja, he scooped up one of the koi and slapped it down on the stones at his side. He played with it. He would let it get close to the water then pull it back. Then he'd slam it against the stones or drop it on its head. It was a rather cruel game, but no less entertaining to him. After a while, Sasuke grew bored with the game and decided to satiate his hunger. Taking the flopping fish in his hand by its tail, Sasuke tossed it up in the air and into his awaiting mouth. He bit down and ripped the scaly meat off its brittle bones. It was tasty alright. So much so that he didn't even care that the fish was still twitching in his mouth. It sure was a fighter. But after a few more bites, the fish lay still in his mouth, finally dead.

"Sasuke?"

The wary voice of Naruto got his attention and he turned, the fish's tail sticking out of his mouth.

"What _are _you _doing_?"

He cocked his head to the side. He hadn't realized that anything was amiss until now. He looked down at the tail sticking out of his mouth and blinked. He had become a feral cat without realizing it! He was eating a live fish! And Naruto saw him do it! He quickly spat it out into the grass and looked at his teammate shamefully. "I, uh… I…" No words would come.

"Where you just eating a fish?!" Naruto cringed in disgust.

"Sorry?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I was hungry!"

"So you eat fish out of a pond?!"

Before either of them knew it, they were in a screaming match. Both of them shouted over the other, the conversation getting widely off topic. At first it was over a fish and now they were calling each other stupid. At last it all came back to who could finish the fence first.

Kakashi glanced up and saw them both hammering away as fast as they could, trying to show the other one up. "Funny how all of their arguments end like this, isn't it?" he thought aloud.

~*~*~

Meantime, Neji was having a great deal of trouble keeping his condition a secret. Every time a dog passed him by, he would flinch and look for a place to hide. Guarding a dog show was going to be harder than he thought. At least he wasn't alone. His team could cover for him if things got out of hand. All he had to do was focus on the mission at hand and not freak out. Mind over matter.

"I can do this. No problem at all. I can resist the effects of the potion. I'm better than that." The pride of the Hyuga was at stake here.

A big black dog struggled against its leash in an attempt to leap up on the ninja guarding the gate. "BARK!"

"AHH!" Neji jumped ten feet in the air and took off down the street, leaving Lee to wonder what in the world that was about.

Neji found himself in yet another tree far away from the building he was stationed at. He punched the trunk and growled. "Great! Just great! I'm so pathetic! So much for keeping a low profile…"

Miserable and embarrassed, Neji decided to hide out in the tree for a bit. A few minutes later, without realizing it, Neji had started to groom himself. He didn't notice that he was doing anything until a light breeze tickled his wet arm and he looked down. He had been licking his unbandaged arm for several minutes. He slapped himself in the face to snap himself out of it.

"God! I'm an idiot!" he told himself. But the urge to continue licking his arm was still strong. He had to resist. What would people say if they saw him doing that? Cat instincts were taking over. He was losing the fight. In no time at all, he was back to licking his arm.

_I give up_…

~*~*~

Back with Kakashi, they were just about to finish up the fence. The masked ninja stood back and observed their work. Not too bad. Sakura was doing well on her side, but she ended up using a lot more energy than she thought she would have to. She sat back in the grass with a sigh. She had just finished. Kakashi turned his attention to the two boys on the other side and frowned. Naruto had managed to break a dozen pieces of wood by hammering too hard and all of the ones he had managed to hammer onto the posts were lopsided. Sasuke had used too few nails in order to cut back on time and therefore the fence was unstable and ready to fall apart.

"I figured as much," he sighed heavily. Now this was going to take much longer than they had planned.

Not wanting them to make matters worse, Kakashi allowed them to take a breather and work on the fence with Sakura's help.

Now Naruto was tired _and _bored. "I'm bored..!"

"Stop whining."

"I'm not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Whatever." Sasuke just wanted to go home. On the way over the village, Sasuke made sure to keep an eye out for the woman who sold him the potion in the first place. She was nowhere to be found. But then again, he had first discovered her on another road, not this one. Maybe on the way back home, he'd take a detour to see if he would find her that way.

Naruto leaned forward, catching the light on his headband… and Sasuke's curious eyes. The shiny object now had his full attention. He moved closer to him, but in doing so, lost sight of the twinkling light. He blinked. Sasuke then turned his head to one side and found the right spot where the light hit Naruto's headband. The light shined brightly, nearly blinding Sasuke. Reacting on instinct, Sasuke slammed his hand down hard on Naruto's forehead protector.

"Ow! Hey!" Naruto threw a punch at him, but missed. "What the hell was that for?!"

Sasuke snapped back to himself. "What?"

"Why did you hit me?"

"Uh…" He searched for answers. "Uh… Wouldn't you like to know, loser…"

Naruto's eye twitched. "What did you say?!"

"You heard me!"

"So you hit me just because?!" His headband caught the light again and Sasuke reacted once again in the same manner. "Hey! Stop that!"

Sasuke pulled back. This was bad. His feline instincts were getting stronger. Hopefully that meant that it was going to get worse before it got better. By that, of course, he meant that the potion would begin to wear off or something. If that were the case then he might be able to handle putting up with this a little longer.

The light was back and he pawed at Naruto's head. Naruto grabbed his hand and held it back. "Would you knock it off?!"

"I can't help it!"

"What do you mean you can't help it?"

_Cover story… cover story_… "Because… Uh… Because you're… a big, fat loser and therefore I can't help myself!" Ok, that was a total lie that even Naruto didn't buy.

"Tell me the truth."

"It is the truth, damn it!" He couldn't tell Naruto the truth. There would be no end to the teasing and harassment.

"Guys-"

"WHAT?!" They both shouted at once.

Kakashi was standing over them carrying two small boxes. "I was going to ask you if you wanted any lunch, but…" As he started to move away, Naruto reached out and grabbed the boxes from him. "I thought so."

Naruto handed Sasuke his while opening his own. It was filled with rice balls and vegetables. Needless to say, Naruto picked out all the veggies and started to wolf down the rice balls.

Sasuke ate his own more slowly, but not by much. He loved rice balls and these ones were filled with fish. Soon they were all gone and he was left with the veggies himself. He only picked at them. Bored, he started to watch Naruto eat. He was such a sloppy eater. He kept getting the sticky rice all over his face.

It was then that Sasuke was overcome with a strange new feeling. Instincts were kicking in again. Unable to resist, he crawled over to the blond. He sat beside him, nose inches from Naruto's face. Rice was sticking to his cheeks. Sasuke sniffled. It smelled like fish. That's right! The rice balls contained fish in them so it was no wonder that the rice smelled that way, too. The tantalizing aroma drew him in closer to Naruto's face. Closing his eyes, Sasuke sniffled again and got even closer. His pink tongue slithered out of his mouth as he licked the rice off Naruto's cheek.

"AAAAAIIEEE!" Naruto jumped away, screaming like a little girl. "Oh, dear God! What the hell is the matter with you?!"

It was too late to do anything. Once again his feline instincts prevailed and he was left feeling nothing but embarrassment. He just licked Naruto's face! How must that have looked?

Shocked and humiliated, Sasuke covered his face and ran from the scene. Sakura jumped up and tried to follow him and Kakashi treated the whole thing like it was just another day.

Naruto sat in the grass wiping the slobber off his face. He was thoroughly weirded out. "Jeez! What the hell is his problem?! He, like, tried to make-out with me or something!" _He's been acting so weird lately. I mean, first the thing with Kiba, then the dog, he keeps climbing into trees and saying how much he likes it. He's always sleeping; he's eating raw fish from a pond! He keeps trying to smack me in the head like I'm some cheap toy… and now he's licking my face! Man! It's almost like he's acting like a-_

It hit him like a ton of bricks.

"Wait a minute… Don't tell me."

* * *

Did he find out the truth? Read the next one to find out!

Please review! ^-^


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Sasuke didn't stop running until he reached the edge of the village and scrambled up a tree. He was so embarrassed. He had just licked Naruto's face!

"Sasuke, where are you? What's wrong?" Sakura came down the road in search of him. She went right past the tree where Sasuke hid, not giving it so much as a second glance; something which Sasuke was very thankful for.

After a while, Sasuke finally came down. That was a close one.

"Oh, Sasuke?"

He jumped and spun around. Naruto was standing right behind him with his hands behind his back. Sasuke's tongue when numb in his mouth. What could he say to him?

"How's it going?"

Sasuke shrugged, unable to do anything else.

"So, you're doing alright, huh?"

Now he was getting annoyed. "I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You sure?"

"Yes!"

"Oh. Ok, then." For some odd reason, Naruto had this strange smug look on his face. It was almost like he was trying to hide something.

Sasuke was suspicious. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" His smile didn't fade.

"You're acting weird."

"Am I? You're acting pretty weird yourself."

"I am not!"

Naruto's smile grew. "Really? So you feel fine? There's nothing going on, huh?"

"Th- that's right."

"Nothing at all?"

"Right. Nothing."

He still had the I-know-something-you-don't-know look on his face that made Sasuke very uncomfortable. He was hiding something for sure.

"So…" Naruto rocked back on his heels. "There's nothing going on with you at all? You're A-ok, right?"

Annoyed, Sasuke snapped back, "Yes, I said! Would you just drop it?!"

"Would you be ok even if I showed you this?" Naruto pulled something out from behind his back. It was a big, blue yarn ball.

_Oh, no!_

Sasuke's human mind went blank and his cat mind took over. He stared at the yarn ball with big twinkling eyes. He stood very still, watching it. Naruto waved it in the air, shaking a strand of yarn loose. It dangled from between Naruto's fingers, making Sasuke twitch. Pleased with his reaction, Naruto tossed the yarn ball over to Sasuke. The Uchiha went down on all fours and started to bat the ball back and forth, thoroughly amused. Soon he was playing with it just like any cat would in his situation.

"Ah-ha! I knew it!"

Sasuke paused, a strand of yarn between his teeth. Naruto was pointing straight at him, finger trembling with every word.

"You are! You _are_ a cat!"

Busted!

Hiding the ball of yarn behind his back, Sasuke tried to explain his actions without revealing the truth. "It's not what you think!"

"You're a freaking cat!"

"No! No, I'm not! I was just- I was- It's not- I'm not…"

"Then why were you chasing that yarn around like that?!"

"I- I was just… Well, you tossed it at me and I was… I was just trying to get it away from me was all and- and I got tangled up in it so I was trying to shake it off and-"

"Just how stupid do you think I am?"

"I wasn't sure." That may have been the first truthful thing he said all day. He knew that Naruto was an idiot, but he wasn't sure just how big of one he was. Too bad he wasn't as clueless as he thought he was, otherwise that would have made everything go by so much easier.

"Sasuke, I know you're a cat! Don't try to fool me. I'm not an idiot."

That was debatable.

With nothing else he could do, Sasuke folded and admitted the truth. "Ok, ok. I am, but it's not what you think."

Naruto put his hands on his hips. "Oh? You just said that I was right, now you tell me I'm wrong? Which is it?"

Sasuke avoided his eyes. "It was that stupid potion…" Sasuke told him everything and how Neji had also succumbed to its effects. After he was all done explaining, the predictable happened. Naruto was rolling around in the grass, laughing his head off. "Shut up!"

Naruto could hardly breathe. "You and-? And he… With the… Oh, my God, that's funny!"

"I said shut up!"

"Oh! That's funny as hell! That's just too great!"

"Shut up! Shut _up_!"

"Oh! My ribs!"

"SHUT UP!" Sasuke went over and kicked him.

Naruto rolled away from him, finally calming down. "I- I'm sorry..!"

"No, you're not."

"Yeah, you're right. Ha!" He wiped the tears from his face. "So, even Neji is like this? Oh, that's just too good. I love it!"

"Well, I hate it. And you have to promise not to tell anyone, got it?"

Naruto had finally stopped laughing. "But why? Wouldn't it be better if you told Grandma about this so she could cure you or something?"

"Yeah, after she's had a good laugh about it. For all I know, this stupid potion will wear off in a few days. I can wait it out until then."

Naruto raised a brow. "Really?"

"Don't give me that look. I can handle myself."

"Really?" Sasuke could detect some sarcasm in his voice. He hated being mocked.

"Yes, really! What would make you think that I couldn't?"

"The fact that you're still holding on to that yarn in your hand."

Sasuke looked down and saw that he was indeed still holding onto it. He shut his eyes tight and threw it into the trees. "That's totally different!"

"Is it?"

"Stop giving me that look! I told you, I can handle it!"

~*~*~

"Neji, we have to go! Neji?" Lee looked everywhere for his teammate. He was nowhere to be found. "Neji! Where are you?" A short distance away, he heard soft whimpering. Lee followed the noise and found Neji laying in a fetal position rocking back and forth. "Are you ok?"

He whimpered into his knees, "…dogs… too many dogs… dogs everywhere…"

"Neji?" Lee knelt down and patted his back. "Are you ok? What happened?"

Neji kept his eyes shut and rocked again. He was still in shock from earlier when he had jumped over a fence and landed in the middle of a pack of dogs getting ready to perform. That was terrifying. He had worn himself out from all the running that day and all the fear from his unexplained phobia had taken its toll on his body. Not to mention the fact that he had just spent his last nine hours wide awake for the mission. He was far behind on his sleep and exhausted from all he had been through that day.

Lee stroked his back in a calming manner. "Come on. Our mission is over. Gai-sensei said that we could go home now."

That made him feel so much better. But his legs still wouldn't work. They still felt like marshmallow. He looked up in time to see Lee crouching down in front of him with his back turned.

"Piggyback," he explained. "Hop on, Neji."

He had lost plenty of his dignity that day but not that much. He still had plenty left to politely decline his offer. "No, thank you. I think I can walk on my own now."

"If you are certain…"

"Quite." Neji straightened up and started walking on his own in front of Lee.

What a day!

~*~*~

"What?!" Neji all but screamed. "How could you tell him?! Whatever happened to keeping this quiet?!"

"I'm sorry! He just found out so I had to tell him!"

Neji threw himself onto Sasuke's bed. "I hate you!"

"Same here."

Neji turned his head, resting the left side of his face on the mattress. "I mean, how could you do that? You just told Naruto- Naruto! Of all people, why did it have to be him? He's going to tell everyone!"

"No, he won't."

"Then he's going to take pictures and sell them!" Neji buried his face.

"I doubt if he even knows how to hold a camera. I think we're good."

"Then he's going to come by here and harass us about this whole thing."

Sasuke gave it some thought. "Now, that he would do."

"See? What did I tell you? We're screwed!"

"Hi, Kitties!" Naruto popped into the open window with a huge grocery bag. "How's it going?"

Neji shot a look, not at Naruto, but at Sasuke. "I thought you locked your doors."

"That's a window," he pointed out.

Neji turned away.

Sasuke then turned to Naruto. "What's in the bag?"

He chuckled gleefully. "I got you some stuff!" He dug through the bag and pulled out every item as he named it. "I got you some tuna, sushi, milk, more fish stuff, a toy mouse for you to play with and some more yarn!"

Sasuke's eye twitched. "You've got to be kidding."

"What?" Naruto actually had the nerve to look puzzled.

"Why the hell did you buy that stuff? Like we'll actually play with cat toys! You're such a moron."

"But you played with that yarn ball back at-"

"That never happened!"

_Sure it didn't_… Wanting to tease his rival, Naruto fished out a nice round yarn ball and tried to entice him. He tried handing it to him, but Sasuke knocked it out of his hand. But even that wasn't enough to crush Naruto's spirit. He simply went down on his knees to pick it up.

"Are you listening to me?" Sasuke sat on the floor and tugged on Naruto's sleeve. "I said 'are you listening to me'?! Are you deaf, loser?"

Not even Sasuke's favorite nickname for him could wipe the smile off his face as Naruto tried a different approach. He started to roll the yarn ball back and forth with the tip of his finger. "Yeah, I'm listening."

"Good. This is important." Sasuke's eyes caught sight of the rolling yarn ball, but tried to ignore it. "You understand that no one can know about this, right? You haven't told anyone, right?"

"You're like a broken record. No, I haven't told anyone."

"And you promised you wouldn't, right?"

"I promise already. Don't you trust me?" Naruto pushed the yarn across the floor with his finger.

Sasuke's eyes drifted down to it once more and watched it roll. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything. It's just that you can be a real pain sometimes, you know? You're so childish and can't be trusted when it comes to keeping a secret."

"I resent that! I can so!"

Sasuke's eyes followed the yarn. "I mean it. I mean, the second you found out about us being turned into cats and all, you've done nothing but tease us."

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked innocently while rolling the yarn a little closer to Sasuke.

"I mean like bringing us milk and cat toys. That's insulting! We're not really cats! We'll change back soon, I'm sure of it. All we have to do is wait it out and everything will be yarn- I mean fine! Fine! I said fine!"

Naruto's smile widened. It was working. Sasuke was already getting distracted. He rolled the yarn a little more, shaking a strand loose. It slapped against the floor every time the yarn ball rolled from one side to the other.

Sasuke's dark eyes never left it for a second, but still he continued to speak. "It's bad enough that you know. I don't need Sakura to know, too. She'd have a field day! She'll try to cuddle me and hug me! It's embarrassing enough just being this way; I don't need people drawing attention to it, too! I know how much she's yarned- yearned for something like this to happen. Her and Ino always rounding- er, hounding me… It's pathetic how they roll and… rolling round… across with... little tiny string just- Stop that!"

"What?"

"That! Stop doing that!"

"What?" Naruto rolled the yarn a little more.

"You know damn well what you're doing! Stop rolling that stupid thing around like that!" Sasuke's eyes followed it. Back and forth, back and forth. "St- stop… Stop it..!" he said more to himself than to Naruto this time.

Naruto giggled. This was so much fun! He rolled it to the left, then right, and then left again. Sasuke's round eyes followed it wherever it went, mesmerized by it. It rolled over here then there so wonderfully. After what seemed like hours, Sasuke's resistance finally fell and he gave in to feline desires. He poked the yarn with his knuckles. Naruto pushed the yarn over to Sasuke and watched him bat it back and forth. Engrossed in his new toy, Sasuke rolled over onto his back and tossed it up in the air playfully. He gnawed on a strand and tugged at it.

The blond ninja sat back and watched with a big smile on his face. Just seeing the dignified Sasuke rolling around on the floor playing with a yarn ball brought him such joy. Oh, how he was going to have fun with this!

* * *

Poor Sasuke. But he's so darn cute! XD

Please review! ^-^


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

Sasuke was having a wonderful time playing with that yarn ball Naruto had given to him just a few minutes ago. It was so much fun to play with. He loved tossing it in the air and rolling it across the floor. He would take a strand of colorful string in his teeth and give it a tug, shaking it loose and flicking it in the air. He tossed it too high one time and ending up having to chase after it on all fours to the other side of the room. He rolled over on top of it and squeezed it in his hands. He gnawed on it with playful little growls. This was such a wonderful time for him to just let his mind go blank and play to his heart's content.

"Aw, isn't that cute?"

Sasuke's ear twitched. He glanced up and saw Naruto watching him with an amused look on his face. He froze in place, a strand of yarn still stuck between his teeth, yarn ball wedged in his hands. _Idiot! Snap out of it! You are not a freaking cat so quit acting like it! _the inner-self he never knew he had screamed. He quickly threw the yarn away and brushed himself off, trying to look somewhat dignified. But the damage was done. Naruto had already seen way too much.

"What? You looked cute."

"Shut up…"

"Huh? You're mumbling."

"I said shut up, you loser!" Where was Neji when he needed him? Looking around, Sasuke's eyes rested on Neji sleeping soundly on his bed. It was hard to believe he could sleep at all with all the noise going on around him. He must have been exhausted. "No more yarn."

"Aw! Why not?" Naruto whined.

"Because… Why should I have to explain something so obvious to you?! Just leave me alone!"

Naruto moved closer, ready to tease. "Aw, someone's a grouchy little kitty-cat. Who's a grumpy kitty?" He scratched behind Sasuke's ears. He had expected Sasuke to yell at him or try to punch him, but instead, he did something else.

He purred.

Naruto was actually surprised. This was unexpected. But he loved hearing that sound vibrate from Sasuke's throat so he continued to scratch him. Sasuke's eyes rolled back and purred even louder. He closed his eyes lazily and leaned into Naruto's touch, loving the wonderful sensation.

"Heh, so you like having your ears scratched, huh?" He scratched harder. "Do you like that?"

Sasuke gave a moan of pleasure. "Ohh..! It feels wonderful..!" he purred dreamily.

"Aw, the widdle kitty-cat likes having his ears scratched, doesn't you? Doesn't you?" Naruto cooed to him as if he really were a cat.

"Mmm… I love- No! No, I don't!" Sasuke snapped out of his blissful state and pushed Naruto's hand away. "Would you knock it off? I told you I don't like that!"

"No, you didn't."

Sasuke growled. "Well, I don't, ok? So leave me the hell alone!"

But Naruto didn't. He wanted to find more of Sasuke's sensitive spots. "Hey, do you like having your chin scratched, too?"

"No, and I don't want you to find out for yourself, either! Just go away!"

Naruto put a finger to his chin, thinking. "Hmm… What about this?" He forced Sasuke around and started to scratch his back with both hands, digging his nails in around his spine.

"I told you no! I don't…" Sasuke trailed off, staring straight ahead. He actually liked it. Having his back scratched felt great. He started to purr all over again. "Oh… Oh, I really kind of like that… I really do…" Naruto scratched lower and his back arched. "Ohh! Oh, yeah! That's the spot right there! Yes! Oh, that feels great..!"

Naruto chuckled. This was so much fun. "Do you like that?" He shifted his hands to the left. "What about here?"

"Oh, yeah!" Sasuke's leg kicked. "Ohh! That's awesome!"

Naruto's laughter and Sasuke's moans woke Neji from his sleep. He wasn't as grouchy as much as he was curious. He wanted to know what all the fuss was about. As the fog faded from his sleepy eyes, Neji found the two teammates on the floor by the bed. Naruto was scratching Sasuke's back and the Uchiha was in absolute bliss. Naruto's fingernails worked their way over Sasuke's spine and across his shoulders.

Now that looked wonderful. Maybe it was jealousy or maybe it was just a strong desire to be a part of it, but either way Neji ended up getting off the bed and over to Naruto. He sat crouched next to him until the boy looked at him.

"What?'

Neji didn't speak. He only nudged Sasuke aside and sat with his back to Naruto.

"Uh…" Naruto wasn't getting the gesture.

Neji turned his head so that Naruto was now staring at the back of his long brown hair. He muttered something that sounded an awful lot like 'backrub'.

"Eh?'

Neji clenched his fists in annoyance. "Just give me a backrub, too," he hissed through his teeth.

Naruto was delighted as well as confused. "You want me to rub your back, too?"

"That's what I said, isn't it? Just get it over with." Neji sat in silence after that and waited.

He made it sound like he was doing Naruto the favor. But Naruto was just happy to be able to do this and not get the stuffing beat out of him. Not because he wanted to make them feel good, but rather to laugh at them for acting so much like cats.

He put his hands on Neji's back and started to give him a backrub. Neji shivered, unused to the feeling of someone's hands upon his back like this. Slowly Naruto started to work the kinks out of Neji's shoulders and back. Then when Neji seemed to have gotten more comfortable with the massage, Naruto curled his fingers and started to scratch his back.

Neji shut his eyes and purred. He didn't try to stop it. It felt good to him. It was a pleasant way to express how good he was feeling without words.

"How's that feel, Neji?"

He hung his head, letting the weight of his skull drag his body downward. "Where did you get so good at this?" he slurred drowsily.

He shrugged. "I don't know. So you like it?"

His answer was another loud purr.

~*~*~

What had started out to be a fun afternoon of tormenting Sasuke and Neji had turned into a boring evening of watching the two of them sleep. They were sound asleep on Sasuke's bed snoring lightly. They looked so comfortable, but Naruto wasn't here to watch them sleep. He came to have some fun. Sadly, it was not meant to be. The two weren't getting up.

Naruto lay flat on his stomach, clicking his heels together rhythmically. This was so boring! He drummed his fingers on the carpet. He held his head in his hand. He chewed on his lip. His eye twitched.

"For crying out loud, do _something_!" He couldn't take the boredom anymore. "Come on, guys! This is so boring! How can you just sleep like that? It's barely sunset. Come on, time's a-wasting! Get up and move around! Chase the yarn! Purr! Anything!"

They didn't budge an inch. They were totally out cold. Naruto doubted that they could even hear him complain.

He marched over to Neji, picked him up by his shoulders and shook him. "Come on, wake up! I didn't come here to watch you guys sleep!"

Neji cracked an eye open. "Then you must have come here to exploit us because we don't do much else."

"What?! You're kidding!"

Neji yawned in his face. "No, it's true. We sleep about 18 hours a day now. It can't be helped."

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. 18 hours? Was he serious? What in the world was he supposed to do during that time? Just let them sleep and go do something else? Come on! This was his one chance to torment Sasuke and Neji in such a hilarious way. How could he just walk away?

Neji's head fell back as he started to drift off again.

"Hey, wake up!" Naruto shook him again.

Neji swiped at Naruto's face but missed having kept his eyes closed. "Leave me alone. I've had a long day. I just want to rest."

"But wait… Don't cats usually take lots of catnaps or something? Why can't you do that?"

Neji rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Because I just spent the whole day awake and am far behind on my catnaps, ok? My body's ready to give out." It already had. His whole body was limp and heavy. He needed some sleep; maybe a lot of it.

"Can't you sleep at night?"

He could barely shake his head he was so tired and weak. "Cats are nocturnal… They prefer the night. That's why we're so wired at night and can't sleep very well."

"So you're going to sleep now?"

This time, Neji didn't answer. He had already gone back to sleep in his arms.

Naruto dropped him back onto the bed and turned to Sasuke. Why couldn't they stay awake for longer than a few seconds. They must have been really, really tired. "Damn, this is boring."

The two continued sleeping for several hours undisturbed. Bored with their lack of activity, Naruto left them alone to have dinner. When he returned later that night, they were right where he left them, only huddled together for warmth. Believing to have slept enough, Naruto went over to pester Sasuke. He leaned into his sleeping face and stared at him. When he didn't move, he started to call out his name in a spooky voice.

"Sasssssssukeeeeeeeee..!"

He didn't move.

"Sasuke..!"

Still no sign of movement from the sleeping ninja.

"Sakura wants to know if you want to date with her tonight."

His face twitched. At least he got something from him this time.

"Gai wants to know if you want to train with him in five minutes. You up for a thousand mile dash?"

Sasuke frowned and hid his face with a soft moan.

"Um…" Naruto tried to think of something that would get his attention. He had an idea. It was a stupid and childish idea, but a brilliant one. He hurried over to the sink and ran the water. He caught the water in his cupped hand and ran back to the bed where Sasuke slept. He crouched down by his face and got ready. Stifling his giggles, he mimicked the sound of someone hacking up spit and threw the water into Sasuke's face.

Sasuke shrieked and tumbled off the bed. One of his legs caught Neji in the neck and pulled him down off the bed with him. The two landed on the floor in a heap. Sasuke continued screaming about how disgusting Naruto was and tried to wipe the water off on Neji's jacket.

"Relax! It's just water!" Naruto confessed. "I didn't really spit in your face. It was just a joke."

"You stupid idiot! Gross!"

"I just said that it wasn't real spit."

"I know, but still! Can't you let me sleep in peace? What the hell's wrong with you?"

Neji sat up rubbing his head and frowned. "I'd have better luck sleeping back at my place. I'm out of here." He got up to leave.

"You're such a-"

"Geez, sorry!" Naruto held up the yarn ball. "Would this make things better?"

"Get that stupid thing away from me!" Sasuke swatted it out of Naruto's hand and across the floor.

Neji, who had been getting ready to leave, suddenly stopped and turned around. He got down on all fours and chased after the yarn. He unraveled a section of it and tangled himself up in it, purring happily.

"At least somebody here wants to play with it." Naruto sighed and went into the kitchen. "You're boring, Sasuke. At least with Neji I can get a response. I'll play with him while you mope and whine."

"Do you hear me whining? Right now, you're the one who's whining like a little brat."

Naruto picked up a can of tuna and cranked it open with the can opener. "Call me whatever you want but I'm not the one who's…" Hearing purring, he looked down. "Sasuke?"

He was down on all fours, rubbing his body against Naruto's legs and purring.

Naruto looked from Sasuke back to the can of tuna. "Don't tell me… You like the sound of me opening this thing? That's why you're acting like this?"

He didn't answer. He just rubbed his body against Naruto's legs, purring noisily. He wanted that fish and loved the fact that Naruto had opened it especially for him.

"Who wants tuna?" Naruto sang. He held the can over Sasuke's head and watched him follow it with his eyes. "Aw, aren't you a cute little kitty-cat?"

Sasuke didn't react to the term this time. He was too busy keeping an eye on the fish in his hand.

Laughing, Naruto dumped it into a bowl and set it on the floor next to Sasuke. He laughed even louder when Sasuke actually started eating out of it like a cat. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look?"

Sasuke paused, mouth full of fish and looked down at himself. He was crouched next to a bowl of tuna and eating it off the floor! He swallowed the tuna and grabbed the bowl in his hands and slammed it down on the table. He had half a mind to dump it all over Naruto's head but that would have been a waste of tuna. "Stop treating me like a cat! I'm not going to eat off the floor like one so knock it off!"

"But you were-"

"Just stop it!" He sat down at the table with his back to Naruto and ate the fish like a normal human being.

Neji was still playing with the yarn in the hall, purring happily. He hadn't even noticed anything else going on in the room. He was far too busy playing like a kitty-cat, much to Naruto's delight. The blond went over to him and played with him by trying to take the yarn away from him. Neji tugged it back and swiped at Naruto's hand whenever he got too close.

Sasuke finished off the fish and watched them play. This confirmed what he had suspected all along. They were getting worse. A lot worse.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

They couldn't stay in Sasuke's house forever. Eventually they would have to come out. Surely anything was better than Naruto's teasing. Ok, maybe not. He was constantly pestering them and tricking them into cat games. It was humiliating!

But Sasuke caught a break…sort of. Kakashi had scheduled training for them that day, forcing Naruto to put aside the cat games and keeping Sasuke's condition a secret. Hopefully he would do just that.

Kakashi memorized the page he was on and put his book away. "Ok, let's get started. It's mostly review today."

"What?" Naruto whined. "Aren't you going to teach us some awesome new jutsu?"

"You can't learn something new if you're still having trouble with the old. Don't worry, this won't take long."

That was a lie. It took them four hours to complete the exercise. And too bad for Sasuke, it was another warm day. After only a little while, he was ready for another nap. _Why do I have to be a cat? All they ever do is sleep! I've never felt so lazy before in my life_… But at least no one noticed a change in him yet. He was still very agile, despite feeling so tired. Thank God for that.

At 1:00, Kakashi allowed them a break. Sasuke thanked his lucky stars and sat down under a tree. If he could just get a couple minutes of sleep, he should be fine. But Sakura wasn't having any of that. She sat down in front of him holding up another lunchbox.

"Um, hi!" Her cheeks were pink. "Do you want to share lunch again with me? I have boiled-"

"No thanks." Sasuke turned away.

Sakura hung her head disappointedly. "Oh… I understand. That's ok. But if you need anything…"

"Sure, whatever. Go away." He wasn't in the mood.

Sakura stood up and walked away sadly.

Sasuke started to shut his eyes when a second person showed up and sat down on his right. "What the hell do you want?"

Naruto grinned at him, showing every one of his teeth. "Hi."

"Don't start."

"Start what?"

"Go away."

Naruto frowned. "You're mean."

"Shut up."

He looked Sasuke in the face.

"What?" He was very annoyed now.

"You know…I think you would look good with whiskers."

Sasuke leaned away. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto gestured to his own cheeks. "Right about here. I think you'd look good with them."

_I should have known he would pull something like this. He's probably going to draw them on my face when I'm sleeping_. Suddenly an afternoon nap didn't sound like such a good idea. Naruto was the village prankster after all. There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto would go through with something like that. Sasuke moved away from him. "I'm good. I don't need whiskers."

"Aw, but I think they would look cute."

"I mean it, loser. If you so much as come near me with a marker, I'm gonna…" A loud yawn escaped him.

Naruto groaned and sat with his back against the tree trunk. "Ah, don't tell me you're still tired! You sleep all the time!"

"I can't help it." Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "Cats sleep 18 hours a day. I'm lucky if I can sleep for ten a day with all the things going on."

"But don't cats just take a lot of catnaps during the day? Why can't you just do that?"

That was a good point. "Maybe it's because their bodies are built for that. Human bodies can't."

"Why not?"

"How the hell should I know? I guess it has to do with how our bodies are made. They're meant to sleep all the time, humans are supposed to be more active so we don't, I guess." He really hadn't a clue. "How the hell should I know? Ask Neji. He seems to know a lot about cats."

Naruto sighed heavily. "So it's just going to be another boring day of watching you sleep, huh?"

"Are you kidding?" Sasuke shot him a drowsy glare. "I'm not sleeping with you around. You'll pull something."

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know. Like maybe drawing whiskers on my face."

Naruto's grin was back. "Oh, I wouldn't do something like that," he sang.

"Like hell you wouldn't! I know you!"

The smile never left his face. "Ok, Sasuke… Let's just see how long you can last."

"Huh?"

"I'm just saying…"

"Saying what?"

Naruto leaned into his face. "You just look so sleepy. I wonder how long you'll last without nodding off on me. Judging from the bags under your eyes, I'd say you only have a few minutes."

"You think so, huh?"

"I know so. You won't last much longer than that. You'll be out cold by the time I count to ten."

Sasuke snorted. "We'll just see about that!" Sasuke folded his arms and sat with his back to the tree. There was no way he was falling asleep with Naruto around. He could stay awake all day if he wanted.

It was wishful thinking on his part. He felt so tired. Within only a few short minutes, his head started to bob. He wasn't lasting as long as he thought he would.

"I knew you wouldn't last," Naruto smirked. "Look at yourself."

Sasuke shot him another drowsy glare. "Just shut your mouth." He scrunched up his face in concentration. _Stay awake, Sasuke. Just stay awake. Just a little bit longer. Don't fall asleep. Stay awake_. The rustling of the leaves weren't helping him. The sound they made was very soothing, lulling him to sleep. He gave his head a shake and forced his eyes open. _Damn trees. Shut up, would you?_

Naruto tapped his foot rhythmically on the ground. Up and down, up and down.

"Shut up…" Sasuke mumbled.

Naruto stopped tapping. But then he did something even worse. He started singing. "Lullaby and goodnight, go to sleep little Sasuke…"

"I said shut up!"

"What am I doing that's so wrong?"

"Just shut… up…" he yawned. It wouldn't be long now. Even he knew he wasn't going to last.

He could hear Naruto's snickering. "You're so stubborn. Just give it up already."

"Never!"

A few moments of silence passed before Naruto started humming the same song as before. This time Sasuke was too tired to tell him to stop. He started to nod off. Just as his eyes were about to close, he snapped his head up and forced his eyes wide open.

"Would you stop that?"

"What?" Naruto asked again.

"You know what! Stop doing that!" Sasuke slurred sleepily.

His tone only made Naruto laugh out loud. "You sound so funny!"

"Funny how?"

"Less intimidating, I'll tell you that."

Sasuke turned away. "Just leave me alone."

He wouldn't stop picking. Naruto started whispering in his ear. "You're getting sleeeepyyy… Very sleeepyyy… You're eyes are getting heeeavyy..."

"Shut up! That's annoying _and_ creepy!" But that didn't change the fact that he was still getting sleepier by the minute. _I hate being a cat!_

Then Naruto did just about the worst thing you could do. He started scratching Sasuke behind the ear.

Sasuke's back arched and he leaned into Naruto's touch. _Oh, no! Not that! Anything but that! _He moved closer to Naruto and purred. Naruto chuckled and scratched a little harder. Sasuke purred noisily. "That feels nice…"

"Oh, really?" he grinned, as if he didn't know. "And what about this?" He ran his hand down Sasuke's neck and onto his back, giving him a back scratch.

Sasuke's leg kicked slightly. "More! More, more, more! Oh, yes! That's the spot!"

Snickering at Sasuke's antics, Naruto then flattened his hand on Sasuke's back and started to give him a massage. Sasuke purred and closed his eyes. After a while, Naruto rubbed Sasuke's back in a slower, gentler motion. Sasuke slumped forward allowing his head to dangle in front of his chest. He had stopped purring.

"Sasuke?"

No answer.

Naruto lifted his hands from Sasuke's back and watched as he slumped onto his lap. Apparently, Naruto's hands were the only thing supporting Sasuke and without them, he had nowhere to go but down.

"You asleep?"

Sasuke snored lightly.

Naruto smirked again. "I knew he couldn't do it," he said to himself and pulled out a black marker. But when he looked down, all he could see was a defenseless Uchiha curled up in a ball on his lap. Sasuke's knees were tucked up to his chest, his arms folded between them and his chest, hands balled up into light fists under his chin. Suddenly, Naruto found that he couldn't do it and lowered the marker. "You're too cute for your own good, you know that? Why do you have to look so helpless like that? You make it too hard."

As if hearing the remark, Sasuke nuzzled up closer to the blond and sighed peacefully. He must have been having a nice sleep. Naruto then began to wonder if he was having any dreams. What would Sasuke dream about anyway? In his ninja-cat state, it might have been about fish.

~*~*~

Unfortunately, Neji's afternoon wasn't going as peacefully as Sasuke's. He and the rest of his team had been called out on a mission and it wasn't an easy D ranked one, either. Their job was to find and subdue a rogue ninja from the Land of Stone. Despite his condition, Neji went with the rest of them, keeping up fairly well.

Neji scanned ahead with his Byakugan in search of their foe. His team needed him. He couldn't let something a trivial as being part cat hold him back. One would argue that being in his condition was a blessing. There were certain advantages to being part cat: agility, flexibility, keen sight, and the ability to land on his feet. But these were all things he was already gifted in being a ninja. Maybe he should just count his blessings and be thankful that he hadn't grown at tail and cat ears… yet. He still didn't know the extent of the potion's effects. For all he knew, it would get worse.

"I found him!" Neji called to the others as a flash of chakra came into view.

"Good job, Neji!" Gai gave him a thumbs-up. "Let's move out!"

They charged in, ready to take him down.

One last prayer and Neji followed the rest of them.

* * *

Please review! I love reviews! They help me write faster and come up with more ideas! ^-^


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

It was so nice to bask in the sun like this. It felt so good. Sasuke loved the warm sun on his body. It was so wonderful. He stretched out in the grass, warming himself on the toasty grass.

"Sasuke!" Sakura came running up, brandishing a large fish. "I brought you some lunch! Doesn't it look yummy?"

Sasuke sat up, mouth watering. "Oh, wow, that's a big fish! Can I really have it?"

"Yup! It's all yours, you cute adorable kitty-cat!"

His jaw dropped. "H- how did you know? D- did Naruto tell you?"

"He didn't have to," she giggled. "I could tell by your cute little ears." She pointed to the top of her own head.

"My… ears..?" Sasuke reached up and felt the top of his head. He could feel a couple of soft velvety pointed cat ears. He gasped. "Ah! My ears! They're… They're..!"

"So cute!" Sakura clapped her hands together gleefully. "I just love them. They're so cute!"

Sasuke then looked down at his hands and saw that they had been transformed into a pair of black paws to match the color of his hair. Before he could get out a good scream, he felt something tap him on the back. He turned around and saw a long black tail sticking out of the back of his pants. This time, he managed to scream. "How could this have happened to me?! How?!"

"But you're so adorable!" Sakura skipped over to him and lifted him off the ground. But when had she ever been that strong? She could never lift him before. And, was it his imagination, or was she a little bigger than he remembered? She hugged him close and rubbed her face against him. "You're so cute!"

His long whiskers twitched. Wait, whiskers? Sure enough, he had three of them sticking out on either side of his face. "No! No! This can't be happening! This can't be real!"

"What's going on here?" Kakashi came out of nowhere and stood next to Sakura.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sasuke reached for him with his paws outstretched. "Please help me!"

His sensei's face broke into a huge smile. "Aw, he looks so cute!"

"Huh?!"

"I mean, you look good as a cat. You're so cute."

"K- Kakashi-sensei?!"

"What? I'm being honest, here. Am I wrong?" He reached into his pocket and, rather than his book, he pulled out a ball of yarn. "Wanna play?"

Sasuke shut his eyes in horror. "This is not happening! This is not happening!"

Naruto appeared next and stared him in the face. "Wow, Sasuke, you changed fast. I had no idea you would become a cat this quickly."

Sasuke was now a full black cat- tail, paws, whiskers and everything. He had even shrunk to the size of one.

Kakashi patted his head. "Aw, he's adorable. I've always wanted a cat."

"Stop it! Please! I'm not a-"

"You are now, Sasuke!" Sakura hugged him tight. "I love you even more! You're coming home with me tonight!"

"No flippin' way!" Naruto snapped. "He's my friend! I'll keep him at my house!"

"But I'm the one who's always wanted a cat. I'll take him." Kakashi beamed at him. "We're going to have lots of fun. I'll treat you good. Take you into a warm loving family. You'll get tuna every night! And nice warm milk and a comfy lap to sleep on... I'll be real good to you, Sasuke."

"No! No! No! NO!"

Suddenly a hand came out and lifted him up from behind. Turning his head, Sasuke saw the face of his older brother.

"Just as weak and pathetic as ever, I see." Itachi held Sasuke an inch from his face. "But I have to say that the look really suits you. I like it."

"Itachi, you son of a-"

"Face it, brother… You'll never get your revenge. You're better off coming home and living with me as my pet. It won't be so bad. I'll even show you how I do my nails. I'll paint your claws the same color so we'll match. And no eating Kisame. I'll feed you well."

"Shut up! Shut UP! SHUT UP!!"

The image of them all swirled around him in a dark blur until he found himself staring at a field of grass. He shot up panting and in a cold sweat. He looked wildly around at the trees and grass until he finally saw an orange jacket.

Naruto gave him a surprised look and cocked his head slightly to the side. "Bad dream?"

"Y- yeah…"

"What was it about?"

"Nothing."

"It couldn't be nothing. You kept screaming and whining for several minutes."

"Then why the hell didn't you wake me up?"

He shrugged. "I was bored and had nothing better to do."

"So you watched me freak out during a nightmare?!"

"I don't tell you how to live your life."

"Break it up, guys." Kakashi flashed into view and stood over them. "We have an issue to take care of. Come on, let's find Sakura."

Naruto got to his feet. "What's going on?"

"Well…" Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "It's Gai's squad. Neji's in trouble."

~*~*~

_Earlier_…

Tenten summoned up a large shuriken and threw it at the ninja. He dodged it. Lee was up next and tried to kick him into a tree. The ninja stepped aside causing Lee to go crashing in the tree himself.

"We need to tag up!" Tenten advised. "We'll never get him if we keep trying to attack him separately like this."

"Right!"

"Ok! Neji you take left; Lee go right and I'll cover you guys. Go!"

If only Gai were here to help them. He insisted that he knew a shortcut and would be there shortly. But that was well over a half-hour ago! Where in the world was he? It didn't matter anyway. There were three of them and only one of him. They could do it. This rogue ninja was going down!

Neji got into position and got ready to use his gentle fist. Lee teamed up with him and blocked off the ninja's only exit giving Neji a clear shot. He saw his opening and went for it. "Eight Trigrams, sixty four…"

The worst possible thing happened at that moment. Neji caught sight of the ninja's sash around his waist. It fluttered with his movements, teasing him. Suddenly, Neji felt like playing. He wanted so much to play with that white sash waving at him in a friendly way. He froze in place, two totally different impulses hitting him at once. Fight or play?

The ninja seized this opportunity to punch him in the gut and sent poor Neji flying backwards.

"Neji!" His teammates screamed his name.

He quickly got to his feet to show them that he was still in one piece. He had to keep his head and focus. He couldn't let himself get so distracted. He had a mission to complete!  
Tenten threw a few kunai at the ninja preventing him from escaping and summoned up a large chain. He pulled out a sword. This fight wasn't over yet.

Neji cracked his knuckles and got ready to charge. "Eight Tri…" He got distracted again. This time by a little bird passing by overhead, trying to escape all the noise. Neji watched it with a combination of curiosity and hunger. That bird looked pretty good. He wondered how it would taste.

"Neji!"

He snapped back to himself. "Huh? What?"

Lee was in a chokehold by the ninja and Tenten had her chain wrapped around the foe's legs. "We need your help, Neji! What are you doing over there?!"

This was no time to be thinking about birds! The mission was much more important! What in the world was he thinking?!

Giving himself a mental slap in the face, Neji charged in to help.

After several blows, the two teams broke apart. The rogue ninja had suffered a few scraps and a large gash on his leg, but he was still standing. Lee had been punched in the face multiple times and was still a little lightheaded from the earlier chokehold, but he was managing just fine. Tenten had minimal damage herself, suffering only a couple bruises and a cut to her left cheek. She also had a large cut on her arm from the man's sword but it was nothing to worry about at all. Neji, on the other hand, was in the worst shape out of all of them. He kept getting distracted and as a result, he had several cuts on his arms, stomach and face. His legs were all battered and bruised as well as scrapped. He was a mess. And if that weren't enough, his cat instincts kept forcing him to stop everything and lick his wounds. This caused him to suffer more injuries as a result from not staying on his guard.

_I can't take much more of this..! I'm dying out here!_

Neji couldn't keep this up anymore. He was getting beat up bad. Real bad.

The ninja saw his chance and swung at Neji's face. But Neji's reflexes were still topnotch. He blocked it. The ninja swung again, and this time Neji fought back, just not in the way he had expected. Instead of using Gentle Fist, he swung at the man's head with his open hand and scratched him across the eyes. It was a rather good move. Not only did he cause him pain, but it also stunned him.

_Did I really just… scratch him?_ Neji was beside himself. _In retrospect, I suppose I should have grown out my nails a bit more. I would have done more damage_.

When the man removed his hand, Neji got a good look at his injury. He had claw marks going right across his left eye and nose. He had even drawn blood!

"You little brat!" He made a move to choke Neji, but he did it again. He scratched at the man and nailed him across the jaw without even thinking. Maybe cat instincts weren't so bad after all. But just scratching him wasn't going to do very much.

"Hold him still, Neji!" Tenten got out another weapon. Lee stepped up, too.

Before the order could register, the ninja jumped away, drawing blood from his thumb. It was a summoning jutsu. He slammed his hand on the ground and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, the squad was faced with four very large wolves.

_Oh, crap_.

They were all barking and snarling at them. They shook their grey heads angrily and howled.

Lee held up a fist. "Ha! Do you really think that a couple of wolves will stop us? We will defeat them in no time! Right, guys?"

"That's right! Wolves are nothing compared to a hailstorm of my weapons!" Tenten pulled out a scroll.

The only one unprepared for this was Neji. He stood shaking behind them, his face as white as a sheet. He couldn't take his eyes off the wolves for a second. He was frozen in place, petrified with fear. Why did it have to be wolves?!

One darted forward, bearing its fangs. Neji fell to his knees and ducked in cover. There was no way he could handle this. He was terrified.

Tenten pulled out a long pike from her scroll and jabbed at the first wolf. "Neji, on your feet! What's wrong with you?" He was in no condition to issue his own orders, leaving Tenten to take charge. "Neji get up!"

Slowly, he raised his head and looked up. The wolf was gnawing the end of the pike and tried to scratch at the one holding it. Tenten needed help. Legs still very weak and wobbly, Neji stood up and tried to put his fear aside. His team needed him. He had to help them. He raised his hands, preparing for Gentle Fist.

Meanwhile, Lee was stuck fighting two wolves at once by himself. If only Gai were here to help them. There were four wolves. One was attacking Tenten, two were on top of Lee. Where was the fourth one? Neji got his answer when it jumped him from behind. He yelped and stared into its gold eyes. A wolf never looked so terrifying.

Shuriken flew over his head and into the creature's face. It howled with pain and retreated. Neji stood motionless, panting. He was still very shaken. This wasn't working out. As he turned, he saw the other wolf darting his way. Tenten wrapped a chain around its neck and pulled. "Neji, I've got him! Go!"

It didn't register to him.

"Neji, I'm holding it for you! Attack! Hurry!"

His legs moved on their own. He took one wobbly step back, then another and another after that. His instincts told him to run. He had to make a break for it. He had to get away.

"Neji!"

All he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat and his shallow breaths. He couldn't even hear the sound of her voice anymore. The wolf snarled and snapped at the chain around its neck. Neji shook, unable to control himself.

_Run… Run away… Get away… Run… Run… Run!_

With a loud bark, the wolf sent Neji into a panic. With a scream of pure terror, Neji turned and bolted.

"Neji!"

"Where are you going?! Neji!"

"Come back!"

"Neji!"

He couldn't hear their voices. His heart was bounding too loud. He ran from the scene, leaving his teammates to fend for themselves.

~*~*~

"Neji has run off," Tsunade told them. "According to the report, he just ran off and left his team. We don't know why, but there are numerous possibilities. Right now, your assignment is to find him and bring him back."

Kakashi and his team agreed.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	10. Chapter 10

I have a picture of Sasuke and Naruto from chapter 5 up on deviantART. Go check it out! It has to do with rice balls. ^-^ One for this chapter, too!

Also, I have a new poll up for Naruto. Please take it!

**Chapter 10:**

They went back to the location where Neji ran off and spread out from there. Their mission was to find him and bring him back to the village. Sakura and Kakashi started their search in the west and Naruto and Sasuke paired off searching to the east.

At first, it was all about business: find Neji and get going. But soon, Sasuke got distracted with just about everything that moved. He found a dragonfly and started to chase after it. Before he could pin it, Naruto grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hauled him away. Soon after, Sasuke found another dragonfly and started after that one, too. He jumped at it and swatted at it with his hands. It flew up into a tree and Sasuke started to climb up after it.

"Sasuke, come on!" Naruto stomped his foot. "Quit slacking off!"

"I'm not slacking off!"

"You're chasing butterflies again!"

"It's a dragonfly which is totally different!"

"Just come on!"

Sasuke slid down and followed after Naruto like a puppy.

It wasn't long until Sasuke started up again. This time, he was complaining about how long a trip this was and how it wore him out so much. He needed to sit down, he needed a snack, he needed a drink, he needed this, he needed that. He was being such a pain. It was as if they had switched roles. For once, Naruto was the one telling Sasuke not to whine. Despite all of Sasuke's complaints, they pressed on, Naruto pulling Sasuke along by his arm. Sasuke struggled to keep up, tripping and stumbling over his own feet.

"I'm tired and hungry..! Can't I just lie down for a minute..?" he whined while tugging against Naruto's arm.

"Would you shut up already?!"

"Make me!"

He gave Sasuke's arm another tug. "Come on. We have to find Neji."

"Tell me something I don't know, loser…"

Now all was quiet. Sasuke hadn't said a word for the past half-hour. Naruto was beginning to wonder if he was still there, despite still having a hold of his wrist. "Hey, Sasuke, you alright?" He looked back over his shoulder. Sasuke was still trudging along behind him with his eyes closed, his head bobbing with every step he took. "You ok?"

Sasuke's eyes opened slightly to look at him. He looked out of it. "I'm fine."

"You don't look it."

"I am…"

Naruto stopped walking. Sasuke almost bumped into him, but not because he had stopped quickly. He just wasn't all together to stop his legs in time. "You look awful. Are you sure you're ok?"

Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "I'm just a little tired. That's all."

"But you just slept!"

"Eighteen hours, Naruto. I have to sleep for eighteen hours like a cat now. A short ten minute nap isn't going to cut it."

"It was 45 minutes."

"Whatever."

Naruto looked around, but it wasn't like he was going to find a stretcher in the middle of the woods like this. "Want me to carry you?"

Sasuke was awake now. "Oh, hell, no."

"Come on, Sasuke! You look like you're going to keel over!"

"So? I'm not letting you carry me."

"Suit yourself."

They continued to walk through the woods, weaving between trees and around bushes. They would have gone much faster if they were jumping from tree to tree like normal, but Sasuke was in no condition to do that. This meant that Naruto had to slow down for him to keep up. Sasuke stumbled and tripped. He wouldn't last. If this kept up, they would never find Neji before nightfall. It was taking more time for Naruto to wait for him than it could take for them to take a short rest.

With a roll of his eyes, Naruto gave in. "Ok, we'll take a short rest."

"Thank God!" Sasuke collapsed where he stood. He stretched his legs out as far as they would go forming a 'v' and leaned back with a long sigh. He really needed this.

Naruto walked over and sat down next to him. "We'll get going again in five minutes. Ok?"

Sasuke fell over backwards and closed his eyes. "Sure, fine. I'm gonna take a little catnap, ok?"

"Ok. I'll wake you when…"

He was already out.

Naruto took a sip from his water bottle and looked up in the trees hanging overhead. _Neji is part cat like Sasuke, right? So maybe he's up in a tree or something. We should probably look up more when we're searching. I hope he's ok. I wonder why he ran off like that_. Naruto looked at his watch. "Ok, Sasuke. It's been five minutes."

He didn't move.

Naruto shook his shoulder. "Come on, wake up. We have to get going."

Sasuke swatted him away. "Just a little longer… please?" His voice was so soft. "Just another minute… ok?"

Naruto tugged his arm, pulling him into a sitting position. "I want to find him before nightfall, ok? Let's get going."

"Just five more minutes..!" he whined.

"But you already had a nap today."

"That was forever ago and it was only a few minutes long."

"It was 45 minutes long."

"Whatever. It was still too short for me and I had a nightmare."

Naruto moved behind Sasuke and started to push against his back. "Up! Get up!"

"Stop that."

Naruto stood over Sasuke from behind and tried pulling him up that way. He grabbed Sasuke under his arms and hoisted him up a few inches. Sasuke swatted at him again, telling him to leave him be. Then Naruto sat on the ground and tried pushing Sasuke up with his feet. He kicked him in the back, pushing up against his spine. Sasuke grabbed his ankle and pulled, dragging Naruto along the ground on his back.

"I told you to knock it off!" he snarled. "I'll move when I damn well please!"

Naruto pulled his foot out of Sasuke's grip. "I still think this wouldn't happen if you let me carry you. That way you can sleep all you want and we'll still be moving."

"Why can't you just leave me here and search on your own?"

"Because that means that I'll have to find you, too. It's best if we stick together. Now let's move."

Reluctantly, Sasuke got to his feet and followed him.

They wondered further into the wood, climbing over rocks and bushes and around trees. They moved into the thick underbrush, scratching up their exposed skin when they pushed their way through to the other side. Those branches were sharp. Naruto unknowingly wondered into a budding rosebush and scratched up his hands, ankles and face, drawing blood.

They took another break after that to examine their injuries. Naruto poked at the thorn sticking out of hand. "Ow! Who woulda known that a rosebush has thorns in it?"

"A better question would be who wouldn't?" Sasuke muttered.

"What's that?"

"All rosebushes have thorns, you idiot. Roses have thorns on them. You never noticed?"

Naruto snorted and sarcastically said, "Well, gee, Sasuke. It's been so long since you brought me flowers, I've forgotten."

"Shut up." Sasuke went back to licking his arm.

Naruto watched him, unsure of what to think. Sasuke glanced down and started licking a cut on his knee. "What are you doing?"

"Hm?" Sasuke paused, tongue sticking out of his mouth.

"Why are you licking yourself like that?"

He stuck his tongue back into his mouth and pulled away from his leg. "I don't know. I just sort of do it without thinking. I don't know why."

That was all he needed to hear. Naruto went back to pulling the thorn out of his hand. It was stuck in there good. "Damn this stupid..!" A hand reached out and took his. He looked up and saw that it was Sasuke. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke held Naruto's hand in his and put the other over the thorn sticking out of his skin. "You want it out, don't you? I'll help you." Using his thumb and forefinger like a pair of tweezers, Sasuke carefully and successfully removed the thorn from Naruto's hand. "There. Done."

Naruto let out a breath. "Whew… Thanks." Sasuke was still holding onto his hand. "You can let go now."

He didn't. He kept staring at his hand, a thin trail of blood leaking from the wound. Giving in to his instincts, Sasuke lowered his head and started to lick Naruto's hand.

He squeaked and pulled his hand away. "St- stop that!"

Sasuke looked at him. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?! You were just licking my hand!"

Sasuke moved closer and started to do it all over again.

"See?! You're doing it again!"

Sasuke didn't even acknowledge him. He moved a little closer and continued to lick him. His gaze moved upward and rested on Naruto's face. He had small cuts on his cheek. Without taking his eyes off the cuts, Sasuke moved closer to him. He knelt at his side with his hands pressing down on Naruto's lap and stuck out his tongue.

"Oh, hell no!" Naruto moved away. "That's where I draw the line! No way!"

"But you're hurt," Sasuke whispered. "I have to… have to…" He licked his face.

"GAAAH! No! Stop it!" Naruto shoved him back.

Giving a shake of his raven head, Sasuke blinked. "What?"

"Don't give me that!"

But Sasuke really meant it this time. He had just blacked out for a minute. "I'm serious. What was I doing just now?"

"You were licking my face again!"

"Oh. I'm sor…" He tried to lick him again.

"I said stop!" Naruto pushed him back.

Sasuke snapped back, "I can't help it!"

"Try!"

"Don't you think I've been trying? I just can't help myself!"

Naruto turned away. "Please!"

"I mean it- Ow!" Sasuke suddenly exclaimed. "I'm telling the truth! There's no reason to hit me!"

Naruto turned. "I didn't."

"Then who..?"

They both looked up into the tree towering above them.

"Neji?!"

He was clinging to the topmost branch looking down at them. "Hi…" he said miserably.

Naruto jumped to his feet. "What are you doing up there?"

"None of your business!" he shouted back down.

Rubbing the bump on his head, Sasuke shot Neji a dirty look. "Why'd you throw an acorn at my head?"

"I didn't mean to."

Naruto waved him down. "Come down from there. Your team's worried about you."

Neji looked shamefully down out of the lower corner of his eye. "I ran away…" he mumbled.

But Naruto heard him perfectly. "Why?"

He couldn't bring himself to look him in the eye. "I was weak. " Neji shut his eyes, reminiscing. "He could summon wolves and I freaked out. I ran off before I could stop myself."

A panic-stricken Sasuke looked wildly around and clung to Naruto's jacket. "I- it's not st- still here, i- is it?"

"Nah. It was hours ago. They're long gone now."

Sasuke sighed and moved away from Naruto.

"Come on down, Neji. Bushier-Brow-sensei wanted us to find you."

Suddenly Neji looked very pissed off. "So he finally showed up, huh? Why isn't he out here looking for me himself?"

He shrugged. "How should I know? We were just asked to look for you while your team finished up the mission. Now come down here."

Neji looked at the ground then to the branch he was sitting on and tightened his grip. "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

Neji hugged the tree. "I don't want to come down."

Sasuke put a hand on his hip. "Get me a rock, I'll get him down."

"Why won't you come down?"

Neji didn't answer.

"The wolf is gone just like you said. Come down here."

He didn't budge.

"Gah, he's so stubborn!" Naruto growled. "We have to get him down from there. I don't want to be here after dark."

Sasuke looked up into the tree. "Do you have any ideas?"

"A couple." Naruto took off his backpack and rummaged around in it. He pulled out a lunchbox and opened it. Inside were dozens of fishcakes. Sasuke's mouth watered just looking at them. Naruto turned up to the tree and waved one of the fishcakes up at him. "Come down! I have something for you! Look, a nice delicious fishcake!"

Neji looked down and saw the treat Naruto was waving about. His stomach growled noisily. He was so hungry.

"Come down and I'll give you it!" He waved it harder, the smell wafting up towards him. "Come on! It's really good!"

Sasuke tackled Naruto and made a grab for it. "Give me that fish and stop teasing!"

Naruto held it at arm's length and pushed Sasuke away with his other hand. "Not now, Sasuke! This is for Neji! We have to get him down somehow."

"But I've starving!"

"Fine, here." Naruto handed him the lunchbox. Sasuke took it in his greedy hands and over to a tree. He dug through it with both hands, shoving as much as he could into his mouth. Naruto looked back into the tree. "You better hurry before Sasuke eats them all."

Though Neji appeared to be very hungry, he still refused to leave the tree.

Naruto glared at him. "Could you be anymore stubborn?!" He turned to the one eating the fish. "Sasuke, climb that tree and bring him down!"

The Uchiha gave him a crossed looked, mouth still full of fish. "And why would I do that? You can't order me around like that."

Naruto pointed into the tree. "Start climbing!"

"You're not my boss!" Sasuke turned back around, refusing to comply.

But that didn't stop Naruto. He snuck up behind him and gave a loud, sharp bark. Sasuke yelped and ran up the tree. "Good, kitty."

Sasuke shot him a dirty look. "That was a dirty trick! If I had claws, I'd scratch your face off!"

"Just climb."

Muttering under his breath, Sasuke climbed up the side of the tree like a cat. Halfway up, he stopped and clung to the truck and tried to coax Neji down from there. "We don't have all day. Come down already."

Neji refused. He hid his face behind his arm.

"What's your problem?"

Neji muttered something into his arm.

"Huh?" Sasuke moved closer. "What's that?"

"I said I can't get down."

"Why not?"

"Because I _can't_."

Back on the ground, Naruto watched and waited. He shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked up into the tree. He could see the two talking about something but couldn't hear what they were saying. Suddenly, Sasuke's body convulsed and he fell out of the tree. He landed in the grass on all fours and doubled over. Thinking he was hurt, Naruto rushed over to help. But it turned out that he wasn't hurt at all.

He was laughing. Sasuke fell onto his side and rolled around in the grass, laughing his head off.

"What the hell's so funny?"

Sasuke pointed into the tree, still laughing. "He's stuck!"

"Huh?"

Sasuke laughed harder. "Neji's stuck in the tree! He's freaking stuck!" He fell over backwards in a fit of laughter.

Naruto blinked. "He's… stuck in a tree?" He looked up into the branches and saw Neji hiding his face in shame. A smile found its way onto Naruto's face. "So… he really is stuck? Like a cat stuck in a tree?"

"That's what makes it so funny!" Sasuke laughed loudly.

"It's not funny!" Neji shouted down to them. "Shut up!"

"But you're stuck in a tree! Tell me what's not funny about that?!"

"The part where I kick your ass!"

It was time for Naruto to act as the leader for a change. He had to get him down and if everyone was laughing at him, there was no way Neji was going to be willing to do that. Plus, if he was stuck like Sasuke said he was, then they had to figure out how to get him down.

"I have an idea." Naruto ripped off a twig from small tree with a couple leaves on the end. He held it up for Neji to see and started to wave it around playfully. "Here, kitty-kitty-kitty… Here, kitty-kitty..."

Neji looked down and spotted the thin branch. At first nothing happened, but then his eyes sparkled. He leaned over the side of the branch for a closer look.

"Here, Kitty-kitty..!" Naruto sang to him.

Just when Naruto thought that Neji was going to fall for it, he quickly looked away. "I'm not going to be fooled so easily!"

"For crying out loud!" In his frustration, Naruto took out a kunai and threw it over Neji's head. It startled him and caused him to fall out of the tree and on top of Sasuke. "Hey! It worked! Just like I planned."

"You planned that?" Neji asked, climbing off Sasuke's crushed body. "I doubt that. It was just dumb luck on your part."

"Hey, at least you're not in that tree anymore." Naruto tossed what was left of the fishcakes over to Neji. He quickly finished it off and they were on their way.

~*~*~

There was no end to the complaints once they started back to the village. Kakashi said that he would be waiting for them at the entrance gate. Naruto was still full of energy but the two ninja-cats were running on empty. Neji had been stuck in that tree for hours with no food or rest, so he had an excuse. But Sasuke was just as tired as he was for some reason. He blamed it on being part cat, but Naruto just thought he was lazy.

Neji kept stumbling and bumping into Naruto who was walking in front of him. Sasuke was pretty unsteady himself, staggering and swaying. After Neji had stepped on his heels for the tenth time, Naruto finally had to turn around.

He stopped in the middle of the path and asked loudly, "What's your problem?"

Given no warning of having stopped, Neji walked straight into him. "Sorry…"

"That's the sixteenth time you've bumped into me and the tenth time you stepped on my foot. What is wrong with you?"

He rubbed his eyes. "I'm tired."

"Again?"

"Get used to it."

Naruto looked over at Sasuke who was swaying slowly from side to side, his eyes shut. "Are you sleepwalking or something?"

Sasuke opened his eyes. "No, you idiot. I'm just resting my eyes."

Neji slumped against Naruto's body, unable to stand up on his own.

"Do you mind?"

Neji didn't answer.

With a groan, Naruto got down on the ground, squatting before him. "Get on."

Neji took a step back as if Naruto had just asked him to dive into a cold creek. "Huh?"

"Piggyback. Get on."

"No way!" Neji took another step away. "I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own, thank you very much. The only time I would ever even consider it would be if I had two broken legs!"

"Not from where I'm standing. Look at you guys! You're practically falling asleep where you're standing. At this rate, we'll never make it back to the village before nightfall. I don't want to be wondering the woods with you guys in the middle of the night. "It'll be faster this way than having to stop and wait for you guys every five minutes. Now get on my back!"

Neji and Sasuke exchanged looks. Naruto sounded like a parent. They were both thinking the same thing. Naruto was right. They were worn out and needed rest and it would be much faster this way.

"Hurry up and hop on."

Too tired to argue, Neji swallowed his pride and climbed onto Naruto's back. Naruto stood up, wrapping his hands under Neji's legs and started walking. This was much faster.

Neji took in the view from his new perspective and sighed. The sigh was mostly from defeat, not just exhaustion. He rested his head on Naruto's shoulder and relaxed. The rhythmic pace soon put Neji into a sound sleep.

Naruto looked over his shoulder to see if Sasuke was still flowing. He was, but very slowly. Smiling sympathetically, Naruto extended a hand to him. "Come on. We'll be there soon."

To his surprise, Sasuke took his hand and allowed himself to be led around like a small child. He rubbed his eyes with one hand while holding onto Naruto's with the other.

"If you like, I could make a Shadow Clone for you."

Sasuke yawned. "Sure." He must have been really tired to agree to that. Normally, if Naruto had even suggested such a thing, Sasuke would have bluntly refused and punch him if he had tried. This showed Naruto just how worn out he must have been.

Balancing Neji on his back, Naruto poofed up a clone of himself and had him carry Sasuke. Without putting up any sort of fight, Sasuke hooked his arms around the clone's shoulders and allowed himself to be carried.

Naruto started walking again. "This never happened, right?"

He didn't get an answer.

* * *

Cute, huh?

Please review and don't forget to check out the other stuff I have up. ^-^


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

At long last, they made it back to the village. Neji and Sasuke were still sound asleep, but Naruto had had enough of carrying them around. He shifted Neji on his back to rouse him. "Psst, Neji."

He buried his face in Naruto's back.

"We're here."

He opened his eyes. "We are..?"

"Yup. You want me to carry you all the way or do you want to walk through the gate on your own?"

No question. Neji got off and continued the rest of the way on his own two feet.

Naruto looked at his clone. Sasuke was still sleeping on his back, but not in a deep sleep. He appeared to be just dozing. "Sasuke, wake up."

"I'm not asleep, you moron."

"But your eyes are shut."

"I'm just resting." Sasuke sat up and stretched. He needed that rest even if it was short. He looked around. "We're back?"

"Yup."

Sasuke nudged the clone, signaling to set him down. Once his feet hit the ground, the clone vanished. "There's no way in hell I'm letting you carry me through those doors for all to see. Collapsing from exhaustion is far less embarrassing."

Naruto couldn't help but take offense to that remark. "You calling me an embarrassment?"

As soon as they had reached the gate, Neji was tackled by Tenten. "Where the hell were you?!"

"We were so worried about you, Neji!" Lee came running up to him followed closely by Gai.

"My dear, Neji! What happened?"

Neji shot him a dirty look and hung his head in shame. "Sorry…"

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "You had me worried sick, you know that? Running off like that in the middle of a fight…"

"Did you guys get him?"

"Yup!" Lee struck a pose. "Gai-sensei was amazing! Tell him, sensei!"

"He was no match for the brave, the noble, the mighty-!"

"Yeah, yeah. The point is you got him." Neji cut him off short. Gai's boasting could go on for hours and he knew it. "Am I in trouble for running off?" He was afraid to ask, but his mouth worked up the nerve to question his fate.

"Lady Tusnade wants to know what happened to you."

Neji and Sasuke looked at each other. He read all he needed to in Sasuke's eyes. She was not to know. Not yet. "I… I'll speak to her, I guess. But even I'm not sure what happened to me back there," he answered miserably.

"Not to worry, Neji!" Gai slammed a hand on Neji's back in what he had assumed to be an innocent pat of reassurance; not a gesture to bruise the spine. "I'm sure even the best of us have our days where we're scared of our own shadow. No need to worry! I can work with you on it if you like."

"No, thanks…" Neji moaned.

Naruto and Sasuke were left alone now. "Want to find Kakashi? He said that he'd meet us here."

"You should know by now that he never means what he says." Sasuke started walking in the direction of his house. "I'm going home."

But as soon as he walked up his street, he saw a pink-haired ninja sitting on his front steps holding a pot in her lap. He should have never accepted her food the other day. Now she just wouldn't leave him alone. More than usual, anyway.

"On second thought…" He turned to the one standing behind him. "Maybe I could hang out at… your place…" Sasuke struggled with the words. He had never been in Naruto's house before, nor did he want to. But anything was better than putting up with Sakura.

He blinked. "You want to come over to my house?"

"Just for a little bit. At least until she's gone."

"Sure!" Naruto was actually excited to have him over. He rarely got visitors, and Sasuke was never in the mood.

~*~*~

It was a bad idea on his part. A very bad idea. Now he knew why he never wanted to come over before. Naruto's house was a total mess. He never put away of his dishes or his trash, never cleaned the table, and it looked like the floor hadn't seen a mop in years. Ramen cups were left out and stacked in odd places, including wedged between books and under his bed. There was a layer of mold in the bathroom on the bottom of the tub and around the toilet. His carpet was crusty and made strange squishing noises when stepped on, clothes were thrown in every direction, making it impossible to tell if they were clean or dirty. His ninja supplies were strewn in every direction and bugs were crawling everywhere.

But being a guest in Naruto's home, Sasuke phrased his sentence very carefully and tried to put it was politely as possible. "You live like a pig. Ever hear of soap, moron?"

"Hey!" Naruto tossed his shoes in a corner. "Don't be so rude. I just cleaned it."

"When, a year ago?"

The rudeness never took away Naruto's smile. He was just happy to have someone over. "Make yourself at home. Want something to eat? I have instant ramen. They're pork flavored."

Sasuke gulped and started to turn around. "I think I'll take my chances with Sakura."

"Wait a minute, don't go!" Naruto pulled him back. "Ok, ok. What do you want to do?"

"Me? I want you to clean up your house. This place is unlivable!"

"I live here."

"Well, it's a wonder, alright…" Sasuke explored around the small apartment, opening cupboard doors and stealing a peek in the fridge. "I don't understand how you can live like this."

"Live like what? There's nothing wrong with my house."

"There's underwear in the refrigerator!"

Naruto scratched his head. "I've been looking for those…"

"You're disgusting!"

"Well, sorry if it doesn't live up to your standards, you neat-freak!"

Sasuke pulled out a carton of milk. "And how long have you had this?" He shook it and they could hear small chunks sloshing around inside. "It's gross!"

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Are you finished, yet?"

"No, I'm not!" Sasuke wasn't through complaining yet. Not by a long shot. "You put food- good food- in the fridge, not clothes! Pick up your clothes and put them away out of sight! I don't want to look in some random direction and see them dangling from the ceiling like they are now. Would it kill you to pick up after yourself? Is it too much to ask that you buy food that isn't rotten and then get rid of it when it goes bad?! I'm afraid I'll die if I eat anything from here. And another thing…"

Naruto held up a shiny bell on a chain and dangled it in front of Sasuke's face, shutting him up. Sasuke's dark eyes reflected the little bell and sparkled. He started to play with it, batting it back and forth with his hand.

"It's so much easier getting you to shut up now." Naruto bounced the bell up and down on the chain, watching Sasuke's ears twitch every time it chimed. "Bet you can't even remember what you were saying, huh?"

Sasuke playfully swatted it and giggled when it swung back, jingling. This was fun!

~*~*~

At last, Sasuke went home and left Naruto alone in his messy apartment. Naruto dawned his nightcap and crawled into bed. The moon had risen, shining its light into Naruto's open window. But that wasn't what woke him. No, it was something else.

It was meowing and yowling. He rolled over and covered his face with his pillow. "Stupid street cats..!"

He didn't get up until he heard a familiar voice meowing with them.

"Sasuke?!"

He jumped out of bed and hurried to the window. There were a few cats on the street below, but no Sasuke. Curious, he turned around and looked at his roof. There were a couple of cats sitting on his rooftop, and Sasuke was in the middle of them looking up at the moon.

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Sasuke turned and gave him a nod. "Hey."

Naruto climbed onto the roof and sat in front of him. "What are you doing up here?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. I just felt like coming up here for some reason."

"Why's it have to be my roof? Isn't Sakura gone yet? You can do this at your house."

"I didn't feel like it."

The cats circled around Naruto, purring and meowing at him in greeting. "Why were you yowling?"

"I was?" Sasuke gave a little shrug of his shoulders. "I didn't notice."

With a sigh, Naruto following Sasuke's gaze up to the night sky. It was a lovely night.

"Would you look at it?" Sasuke purred. "I love the moon. It's not full yet, but it looks so big… I love the night. It's so peaceful."

"Too bad you don't sleep at night like normal people anymore. Then we'd be all set. I can't carry you around forever, you know."

Sasuke didn't say anything.

Naruto turned his body so that he was now sitting shoulder to shoulder with his teammate and scratched him behind the ears. Sasuke purred. Naruto grinned. It still did the trick.

~*~*~

"We're getting worse, aren't we?" It was more of a statement than a question.

Ever since this whole thing started, the two have been getting progressively worse by the day. They had hoped that it would be over in a few days, but that didn't seem to be the case. It also looked like their 'getting worse before it got better' theory was also just a false hope. They weren't improving at all. If anything, things were getting much worse and staying that way.

"So how did things go with the Hokage?" Sasuke asked to change the subject.

Neji moaned pitifully. "It was a disaster. Long story short, I just had to tell her that I was a coward and ran off. There was nothing else I could do."

"You could have lied and said that you were running off to stop that guy you were chasing or something."

"Nah, she's smarter than that. She wouldn't fall for it. Besides, Lee's the dumbest one in our group and even he wouldn't believe that. I had to tell them the truth. I ran away. End of story."

Sasuke kicked his legs over the side of the bench they were sitting on in the park. "Have you noticed anything else?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Such as?"

Neji avoided his eyes. "I couldn't help but notice that… Well, during the day… The thing I noticed was…"

"Spit it out."

Neji swallowed hard. "Haven't you noticed that we seem to be developing short attention-spans?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know." Neji shifted in his seat. "Like we'll be having a conversation and then all of a sudden, we'll space out and get distracted by something?"

Come to think of it, Sasuke had noticed that a few times. He got distracted by anything that moved. He wanted to frolic with butterflies, for God's sake! "Yeah, I have."

"During my lecture with the Hokage, I kept getting distracted by the curtains blowing in the wind behind her. There was also something dangling from the edge of her desk and I just had this powerful urge to play with it."

Sasuke sympathized with him. They were turning into simple-minded cats! They were fascinated by the simplest of things, had become very lazy and took pleasure in simple ways. They were no longer thinking like the geniuses that they were but more like common household felines. Give them a ball of yarn and they were the happiest they had ever been. Give them a bowl of milk and they were as content as could be.

"How can we even call ourselves ninja anymore?" Neji had to know. "We no longer act the part or anything!"

"Calm down. Maybe we'll-"

"Have you found that woman who sold you that stupid potion yet?"

"No."

"Well, what are you waiting for?!"

"Look, I can't find her, ok?! She's a traveling saleswoman, ok? She's probably long gone by now. Just give it up."

"How can I when it's not wearing off like a certain someone said it would?!"

"Hey, I'm in this mess too, you know!"

"Yeah, but _you_ got _me_ into this!" Neji turned away in a huff.

"Hey, guys!" Naruto popped out of nowhere and landed right between them on the bench, making the two jump in surprise.

"What do you want?"

"Come on, I'll show you." Naruto waved for them to follow. "Come on, hurry up!"

The two got up and followed him back to his house. Naruto unlocked the door and showed them into his apartment.

"Ta-da!"

The place was still a royal mess, but much tidier than before when Sasuke first saw it. "What's this about?"

"I have a present for you!" he sang.

The two moved closer into the apartment taking a look around. Whatever Naruto had up his sleeve couldn't be good news for them. Several theories flashed through their minds, but few seemed likely. But several others were right on the nose when it came to someone like Naruto in this situation.

Naruto came back pushing something across the floor in front of him. It was covered with colorful carpeting, shiny bells, a feather duster, cotton balls on strings, and it was wrapped up in different colored yarn. Naruto pushed it in front of them and stood back declaring proudly, "I made it!"

"Obviously…"

He was still bubbling with excitement. "Well? So what do you think?"

"I think it's a monstrosity."

"Huh?!" Naruto's jaw dropped.

"What the hell's it supposed to be?"

"It's a giant cat toy!" Naruto jingled a bell. "I made it for you guys to play with. Don't you like it?"

"Not in the slightest." Neji crossed his arms.

Sasuke did the same. "Yeah, how could you even think to build something so stupid like that? Trying to make fun of us or something? What were you trying to pull?"

"Nothing!" Naruto took offense. "I was just trying to do something nice for you! Geez, take my head off, why don't you? I don't know why I even bothered!"

"Neither do we. It looks horrible. What a disgrace."

Naruto kicked the giant cat toy and muttered under his breath. "So it's a catastrophe, huh?" Then his face lit up. "Hehehe, get it? _Cat_astrophe?" He started giggling at the unintended joke. Neither Sasuke nor Neji laughed. "Come on! It's funny and you know it!"

"Can we go now?"

"No, no! Hang on!" Naruto started to the other side of the room. "I have something else for you!"

"If it's a giant homemade fish ball, then don't bother."

There was a short pause, and then Naruto ran in a different direction. "I got something else for you, then." He ran out onto the deck and took something off the line and carried it back into the house with him. He tossed the large futon on the floor by the porch with a grunt. "Here!"

They looked at it in silence.

"It's a futon."

"We can see that. But why?"

Naruto looked at the futon and then back up at Sasuke. "I made it nice for you."

"How?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I warmed it up in the sun for you. It's nice and warm now, and I know how much you guys like warm stuff."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You've got to be-"

Without warning, Neji came soaring through the air and onto the futon. He rubbed his face on it and snuggled into its warmth. "He's right! It _is_ warm!" He snuggled in deeper. "Oh, this feels so nice!"

Curiosity taking over, Sasuke approached and took a closer look. "Is it..?"

"It's so warm and soft!" Neji rolled around on the futon, loving everything about it. "This feels great!"

Sasuke put a hand on the white futon. "Wow, it is warm." He lowered his face to it. "And it smells like sunshine." He climbed onto it and sat down next to Neji. "Hey, this is great!"

Neji rolled around on his back, kicking his legs in the air. "I told you. Didn't I tell you?"

Sasuke buried his face in the warm, soft futon. "This is so wonderful..! I had no idea a futon warming in the sun could feel so good..! I could stay here forever…"

Neji purred a response and curled up on his stomach. "I think I'm gonna nap here for the afternoon… It's so comfy…"

Sasuke stretched out, taking up as much space as possible and collapsed next to Neji. "I agree. I think I'm gonna take a little nap right here, too."

Neji had his eyes shut, his arms tucked up underneath his chest and his knees bent, shielding his elbows. "G'night…"

Sasuke stretched out next to him and shut his eyes. "Thanks for the gift, Naruto. I like it already."

Naruto grinned. "I knew you would."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

Naruto was beginning to rethink his kind gesture from earlier. Yes, they loved the warm futon, but now they wouldn't leave it. Sasuke was still snoozing, but Neji had been up for the past five minutes, simply enjoying the warm spot he was nestled in. It was nice to bask in the sun and snuggle into a nice, warm, soft futon in the afternoon.

Naruto sat on his bed, watching them. He was bored. "Can we do something fun?"

Neji glanced at him. "Go right ahead. I'm not stopping you."

"So you're just going to stay there all day?"

"Why not?" He rolled onto his other side. The futon felt so warm against his cheek. He purred happily.

Naruto got off the bed. "This is so boring. I want to do something fun with you guys. Please?"

"Give me one good reason to leave."

Naruto didn't have to. Sasuke did it for him. He rolled over rather quickly and slapped Neji in the face with his arm. Before he could get out of the way, Sasuke kicked him in the back with his heel. Normally he wasn't so vigorous in his sleep. Perhaps he was having a vivid dream of some kind. Either way, Neji wasn't going to put up with it. He crawled off the futon and onto the floor.

"What did you have in mind?"

"Wanna go for a walk?" Naruto suggested.

"Do I look like a dog to you? I don't want to go for a walk."

"I'll buy you some fish."

Neji reached for his shoes. "Let's get this over with."

Grinning triumphantly, Naruto looked to Sasuke. "Wanna come, too?"

Sasuke drooled and let out a snore.

"Leave him," Neji advised. "He's out and staying that way."

"Ok, let's go!"

~*~*~

The streets were as busy as ever in town. Everyone was bustling to get their shopping done and children were running around playing their little games. A white cat pounced onto a trashcan and Neji stopped to watch it curiously. Naruto pulled him along.

As they passed by the Yamanaka flower shop, Naruto took a peek through the window and spotted Sakura talking to Ino behind the counter. "Oh, hang on a second! I have to give something to Sakura. I better do that now while I'm here." He pulled Neji into the shop with him.

At the sound of the bell chiming above the door, Ino abruptly stopped talking and looked up. "Oh, it's only you." Then she spotted Neji. "Oh. Oh, Neji… What, uh, what are you doing here?"

"I kinda wish I knew myself," he muttered while indicating to Ino that it was not his decision to come in here and that it was Naruto's fault that he was.

Sakura turned around. "What brings you guys in here?"

"I have something for you, Sakura." Naruto rummaged around in his pocket for something. "Hang on. It's in here somewhere." He dug even deeper, grunting with effort. This was going to take a while.

"Your pockets aren't that deep, weirdo." Ino leaned across the countertop looking both bored and annoyed.

"I got it, I got it."

Meanwhile, Neji was having a look around at all the flowers in the store. He noticed a couple plants hanging above his head. "What are these doing in here?" he asked Ino.

She made to move around the counter. "What ones are you talking about?"

"These." He pointed to the ferns hanging from the ceiling. "Last time I checked, these weren't considered flowers."

"Oh." Ino chuckled. "We have a few other plants in here that aren't considered flowers, but we sell them anyway."

"Why? It's a flower shop."

"Yeah, but people buy them anyway so as long as we're making money…"

That was enough for Neji. He continued to explore around the shop, looking at all the flowers it had to offer. So many flowers, so many colors… The sweet aroma tantalized his senses making him come closer for a better look. He sniffed several different flowers. Roses, orchids, daffodils, and several others he didn't know the names of. They all smelled so sweet but so different.

"Got it!"

Neji turned and saw Naruto ripped something out of his pocket. Thinking that this meant that they were about to leave, Neji started toward the door.

"Oh, wait… That's not it…" Naruto frowned and searched his other pocket.

Frowning himself, Neji went back to smelling flowers. He moved to the other side of the shop, walking up and down the aisles slowly. Something to his left caught his attention and he had to investigate. He moved close to the strange plant.

It was rather odd looking. It looked more like a weed to him than a fern or flower. Sitting in a pot were flowers with sturdy stems with opposite heart-shaped, and grayish-green leaves. The flowers themselves were tubular and spotted with tiny purple dots, their petals ranging from white, blue, and lilac clustered toward the tip of the stems.

He moved his face closer and took a sniff. The scent tickled his nose making him shiver. It was like smelling a mint plant. He took another whiff.

That second whiff was a huge mistake. No sooner had he done so did he start feeling really, really weird.

"Here it is!" Naruto finally handed Sakura the piece of paper trapped at the bottom of his pants pocket. "Kakashi-sensei wanted me to give that to you. He told me not to read it."

"Why not?"

"How should I know? Anyway, I put it in my pocket and must have forgotten about it. I was supposed to give it to you yesterday, but… Well, you got it now."

Sakura carefully unfolded the small piece of paper. "Why'd you have to shove it all the way on the bottom like that? It's all crumpled up and covered with lint."

"Sorry."

Sakura held it between her thumb and forefinger and read it. "Oh, I see… Thanks for giving it to me."

"What's it say?" Naruto tried to steal a peek at it, but Sakura pulled it aside.

"None of your business."

Whining like a child, Naruto pouted and turned towards the door. "Let's go, Neji." He looked over and spotted Neji batting at a plant by the wall. "Didn't you hear me? I said let's go."

Neji rubbed his face against the cluster of flowers, purring.

Losing his patience, Naruto went over and dragged Neji away by the back of his jacket. "Move it!"

Naruto pulled him out into the street before letting go. He was about to continue their walk when he noticed that Neji wasn't acting quite like himself. He seemed rather weird.

"You ok?"

Neji's face was slightly pink and his eyes were clouded. But the thing that creeped Naruto out the most was the goofy smile Neji had plastered on his face.

"Uh… Neji? Why are you looking at me like that?"

There was no other way for Naruto to describe his behavior: Giggly. He kept giggling and never stopped smiling. He looked like he was high on something.

"Neji?"

Without warning, Neji suddenly threw himself into Naruto's chest and nuzzled him.

Face burning red, Naruto pushed him away, looking wildly around. "Damn it, not here! Someone will see!"

But Neji didn't stop. He tried to do the same thing all over again. Knowing that there was nothing else he could do, Naruto pulled Neji into an alley and behind a bunch of trashcans and boxes. There, no one would see them.

"What is up with you, Neji?"

Purring, Neji nuzzled him again. "Hi, Naruto…"

"Uh… hi?"

Neji giggled. "Your jacket's soft."

"Thanks?"

Neji clawed his way up Naruto's body to look at his face. "And your hair is so yellow. It's like a banana."

Naruto inched away from him. "Are you drunk or something? 'Cause you're really starting to freak me out."

Still very giddy, Neji giggled and patted Naruto's head. "You're hair's soft, too. I like it."

"That's, uh… nice. But could you get off me now?"

Neji blinked and smiled with his face an inch from Naruto's. "Hi."

"You really need to stop that."

"Stop what?"

"That!"

Neji giggled. "Hi, Naruto."

"See? That's exactly what I mean."

Neji rubbed his face against his chest. "I love you, Naruto."

"Ok!" Naruto pushed against Neji with all his might. "Now that _really_ needs to stop!"

Neji lifted his head and locked eyes with him. "Wow, your eyes are so blue! How do you do it?"

"Seriously, are you drunk or something?"

"Nope. I feel great." Neji hugged Naruto tightly and purred. "I love you, Naruto. You're my best friend!"

"That's nice, now get off."

"I mean it."

"Uh-huh. Off now, please."

Neji nuzzled him. "Wow..!"

"Now what?"

Neji sniffed his head. "You smell like apples. What is that shampoo you're using?"

"Uh… apple?"

"Cool…"

Neji slumped against Naruto's body still purring his head off. He kept poking and nuzzling Naruto's body and would spout off nonsense whenever he could. It was very creepy and Naruto didn't know how much more he could take. Whatever had made Neji act like this was beyond him, but it really needed to stop.

"I love you, Naruto..!"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard you the first time."

"I love you."

"Uh-huh. I know." Naruto turned his head away. He couldn't believe he was having this conversation with a Hyuga.

Neji rubbed his cheek against Naruto's face affectionately. "I love you so much!"

"Please stop saying that."

"I mean it… I Love you. I… Why the hell am I saying that?" Neji stopped rubbing against Naruto, blinking. He seemed to have woken up, or at least started to. "I feel weird. Why am I doing that? Why am I saying those things?"

Cautiously, Naruto brought himself to look at the Hyuga. "You… yourself again?"

Neji returned his gaze to Naruto. A second passed before he started hugging him again. "I love you!"

"Not this again…"

Once again Neji stopped. "Why did I just say that?"

This was turning into a royal pain. Did Neji honestly have no idea what he was doing or was this all just a really bad, sick joke? "Are you doing that on purpose or something?"

Neji gave his head a wild shake. "I really have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know what's going on with me." He hugged Naruto again. "But I know that I love you!" Face red, he pulled away. "What am I saying?! I don't mean that!" He hugged him again. "But I do!" He pulled away. "No, I don't!" He hugged him once again. "Yes, I do!" He stomped his foot on the ground. "No, I don't!"

Naruto stood there not knowing what to think. One minute, Neji was hugging him, then the next he was pulling away trying to resist the urge. "Decide, Neji. Either hug me or let me go. I can't take being squeezed on and off like this much longer."

"Don't you think I'm trying?! I don't know why I'm doing this!" He really seemed to be fighting against these strange impluses. Naruto took pity on him.

"Want me to help?"

"Yes! Anything! Please!" Neji wailed. "I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

"Ok, but you asked for it." Naruto grabbed a bucket from under a drainpipe and doused Neji with it. "There, fixed."

Neji screamed and shook his whole body, trying to get dry. "Don't do that! Never do that again! Look at me! I'm all wet!"

"God, you're worse than Ino when she works up a sweat during training." Ignoring Neji's complaints, Naruto grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the house. "Come on. Let's get you dry."

* * *

Aw, he's cute!

Please review! ^-^


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

"Stop licking your arm!"

"I can't help it!"

"You'll never get dry that way." Naruto turned the key in the lock and opened the door. "Come on. I'll get you a towel."

But Neji was still trying to lick himself dry. It made no sense to him either, but his cat mind was telling him to do it.

"Sasuke, we're back!" Naruto hollered into the room.

The Uchiha looked up. He was finally awake. "Oh. Good morning."

"It's afternoon, Sas… AHH!"

His sudden outburst caused both Neji and Sasuke to jump.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Sasuke sat frozen on the floor looking up at him with large eyes. "What?"

"That!" Naruto pointed to the couch Sasuke was in the middle of tearing up with his nails. "What do you think you're doing?! You're ruining my couch! Stop it!"

Sasuke looked from Naruto to the couch, unaware that he was doing anything wrong. That being said, Sasuke went back to clawing at the shredded cushions.

"I said stop!"

Sasuke flinched at his pitch. "What's your problem?"

"Stop scratching up my couch!" Naruto finally ran over and kicked Sasuke away. There were four perfect claw marks running down the cushions were Sasuke had been scratching. He had really done a number on it. It needed repair and Naruto couldn't sew. Now he had to find a way to either patching it up or find someone to sew it for him. Sakura could sew, but like she'd go out of her way to come over to his house just to fix a couch Sasuke ruined.

"Way to go, cat-boy!" Naruto punched the side of this couch in his fury. "I can't believe you did that! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

Sasuke raised a brow. "Since when did you turn into my mom?"

His face softened. "Oh, God… I do sound like one, don't I?"

"It's a little creepy."

Neji licked his arm and ran it over his head, grooming himself quietly off to the side.

"Would you stop that?"

"I told you, I can't help it."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto went to find some duct tape. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you guys. It's one outburst after another with you, Neji. I mean, in the shop and now here…"

Sasuke turned. "What happened in the shop?"

Neji's face started to turn red. "None of your business!"

"Oh, come on. What happened?" There was a little bit of mischievousness in Sasuke's voice. "Tell me."

"Nothing!"

"Talk!"

"No!"

"He started hugging me in the middle of the street and told me he loved me," Naruto called from the other side of the apartment.

Sasuke's face lit up with joy while Neji's was bright red. "Oh, really?"

"Stop teasing!"

"I'm not teasing." Sasuke's tone was defiantly teasing. It made Neji's blood boil.

"Shut up!"

"Aw, you love Naruto, do you?"

"I said shut up!"

"How cute!"

"Shut it!" Neji stomped his foot on the ground. "Hey, you're the one who's clawing up the couch!"

"So what?"

"So..!" He had nothing to follow it up. But he didn't want to look like an idiot so he came up with something fast. "At least you weren't clawing up the bed so we'd have something to sleep on during our naps."

"It's a futon, not a bed," Sasuke corrected. "Get your furniture straight."

"You're not straight."

Sasuke's words were drowned out by Naruto's loud laughter. Unable to come up with a retort, Sasuke turned his head with a frown. Neji smirked, proud that he had found a way to shut him up.

"Screw you, Neji," Sasuke muttered.

"So I'm right, huh?"

He should have quit while he was ahead. Now he really had Sasuke ticked off. He pounced on Neji and the two started to duke it out right there in front of Naruto.

"Hey! Knock it off!" As entertaining as this was, Naruto didn't need anything else broken. "I said stop it!"

Sasuke swiped Neji across the face and Neji grabbed him around the waist and pinned him down on the floor. When he tried to punch him, Sasuke kicked him in the ribs and took another swipe at his face.

Unable to do much else, Naruto performed the proper hand signs and transformed into a large brown dog. He stood between them and barked sharply.

Screaming in terror, the two abandoned their fight and scrabbled up the wall instead. Sasuke jumped onto the table while Neji took refuge on top of the nearest bookcase he could find.

Naruto quickly changed back, showing them that there was nothing to fear. "It's ok, guys. It's only me. Calm down."

"I hate you, Naruto!" Sasuke screeched. "Never do that again!"

"What he said!"

~*~*~

After the two had a chance to calm down, Naruto got ready to fix himself some dinner. Seeing as how the two were still his guests, he decided to make a little extra for them, too. They all sat around the table, shoving all the trash off to the side Naruto had neglected to toss out and waited for their meal to be done.

"So why did you act that way?" Sasuke asked, genuinely curious this time.

Neji shot him a look, still thinking that this was more teasing. "How the heck should I know?"

"Well, what were you doing at the time?"

"Nothing. I was just smelling some flowers and the next thing I know, I'm acting like a total loon. It's the strangest thing. I couldn't help myself."

"Were you in pain?" Naruto asked.

"No." Neji drew circles on the tabletop with his finger. "Aside from the pain of humiliation, that is. But no. It almost felt like I was in a dream. Nothing bothered me. I felt free and giddy." Just admitting it made his face blush.

"Well," Naruto said, stretching his arms over his head. "It's all over with now. Water under the bridge, I guess. Let's move on."

The timer on the stove dinged.

"Yes! It's ready!" Naruto leapt up from the table and hurried over to the dish.

Neji swiveled around in his chair to look. "What are we having?"

"You'll see."

They waited a couple more minutes before he finally came back to the table with his arms loaded. He set a bowl of milk in front of each of them and then another bowl filled with, you guessed it, ramen.

Sasuke looked from the hot bowl of soup to the bowl filled with milk and said, "You've got to be kidding."

"What?"

He jabbed a finger at the bowl of milk. "If you think that I'm gonna lap this up with my face, you can forget it!"

"Not your face. Your tongue."

He glared at him. "I'm not a cat; therefore I will not drink like one. Get me a freaking glass. I'll drink out of that."

"But you have before…"

"Just get me a glass!" Sasuke pounded his fists on the table.

"Alright, alright, geez…"

Meanwhile, Neji was taste testing the ramen in front of him. He lifted the noodles to his mouth and took a small nibble, succeeding in burning his tongue. "Ow! Hot!" He threw down his chopsticks and fanned his mouth with his hands. "Hot! Hot! Hot!"

"It can't be that hot," Naruto said coming back to the table with a glass for Sasuke. "Wait, do cats have sensitive tongues or something?"

"Bingo."

"Oh. Then just wait for it to cool off a little more."

"Just get me an ice cube," Neji mumbled miserably.

A few minutes later, they were all eating their ramen quietly. Naruto was already on his third bowl, while Neji and Sasuke barley touched theirs. But their milk was disappearing fast. Despite asking for a glass, Sasuke ended up lapping it up with his tongue anyway.

Naruto lowered his chopsticks and watched Neji play with his ramen, stirring the broth with his chopsticks. "What's the matter? It's shrimp ramen. Shrimp is fish, isn't it?"

"I already picked out all the shrimp pieces." He looked very depressed.

"What's the matter? Are you sick or something?"

He lifted his eyes to Naruto then cast them back down.

"What's wrong?"

"What do you think?"

"I don't know, that's why I'm asking."

Neji turned away. "Just never mind…"

With a loud sigh, Sasuke pushed his empty bowl aside and drained his glass. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. At least you had the right mind to go out and buy fresh milk. Now I know I won't be poisoned." He brought his hand up to his mouth and started to lick it clean.

"Why do you do that?"

He glanced up. "Do what?"

"Never mind." Naruto collected their bowls and put them in the sink. "Ok, so now what do you want to do?"

"Nothing," Neji muttered and sat back in his chair.

Sasuke rubbed his eyes. "I vote for a nap."

"Again? You slept more than Neji did today!"

"And?"

"So you're just going to take another nap right after a meal just like that?"

"Your point being..?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke set his head down on the table. "Good night."

"Wait, not there!"

"Hm?" He lifted his head.

"You can't sleep on a table!"

"Why not? I sleep wherever I drop."

"Find somewhere else to sleep."

Sasuke got up. "Fine." He walked to the other side of the house while Naruto finished cleaning up.

Neji didn't move from his spot. He just sat there with his hands folded neatly in his lap, gaze cast downward.

"Don't tell me you're still upset about earlier," Naruto wondered. "It's in the past. I've gotten over it and I was the one who had to suffer the most."

Neji said nothing.

"Get over yourself!"

He sighed and got up from his chair. "It's not just that. Yes, I'm still embarrassed, but I'm also upset about a few other things."

"Such as..?"

Neji frowned and stormed over to the futon on the floor. "You just don't get it!"

"You're acting like such a girl!" Naruto shouted after him. "At least tell me what's going on instead of leaving me guessing!"

Neji laid down on the futon and shut his eyes without another word.

"I don't get you." Naruto went over to his bed, only to discover that someone was already in it. "Sasuke, out! When I said to find another place to sleep, this isn't what I meant!"

~*~*~

At long last, all was quiet. For the most part anyway. Naruto was snoring loudly from his bed, his mouth hanging wide open. Other than that, everything was still. Neji cracked open his eyes to have a look around. It was night. He wasn't aware of when he had fallen asleep, but that wasn't important now. He had imposed long enough, and decided to leave and finish sleeping at home.

He rolled onto his knees and stretched his arms straight out, arching his back in a much needed stretch. He yawned and turned his gaze over to the bed where Naruto slept. His nightcap was down over his eyes and his chin was covered with drool. Lying atop his sprawled out body was Sasuke, snoozing peacefully. He finally found a warm spot to sleep for the time being.

As Neji started for the door, a flicker of light caught his eye. He turned.

Outside the window, there were numerous flickering lights grabbing his attention. He blinked and cocked his head to the side. They would flash these odd greenish-yellow lights and then just as quickly go out again. Then another flash would go off in the dark in another direction.

Fireflies.

Neji pressed his nose against the window, fogging up the glass with his breath. The fireflies were calling to him with their pretty lights. Suddenly, he wanted to play. Feeling frisky, Neji opened the window and wandered out onto the landing outside. The fireflies danced around him, their lights flickering to life near his face. Happy with his new playmates, Neji started to bat at them with his hands. He jumped up, trying to catch them in his hands, but they escaped every time. Then they started to flicker away.

"Wait, don't go." Neji gave chase, jumping over the railing and landing on his feet in the middle of the street. He raced after them happily, running down the dark streets of the village.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Neji happily chased the fireflies into the park, jumping and swiping at them with a big smile on his face. Nothing mattered to him. Not a care or worry in the world. He playfully swatted at a flickering bug and watched it fly off and land on a bench. Like a lion stalking it's pray, Neji crouched down low and snuck after it. Its tiny light flickered out, forcing Neji to squint in the dark to find it. In a few short seconds, the light returned and Neji made his move. He punched.

The firefly took off, causing Neji to slam face-first into the bench seat. He sat on the ground clutching his head in pain. That really hurt. He no longer wanted to play anymore. He took a look around. He couldn't remember how he got here. It must have been another cat-lapse. He stood up, brushing himself off and thought about what he should do next. He should really go home like he had planned. Now the question was which road should he take?

Before he could decide, another light flashed before his eyes. More little lightning bugs. He gave his head a shake, trying to resist. He was _not _going to chase them. Keeping his eyes fixed on the ground, Neji started walking.

Then a moth startled him. It was following the light from the street laps above his head. Neji shook it off and continued to walk. It took him a few seconds to realize that he wasn't walking in the direction of his home anymore, but rather in the direction the moth was traveling. Why his legs were carrying him this way was unknown to Neji, but he couldn't bring himself to stop. His cat-like curiosity had taken over now, willing him into the trees.

More lightning bugs danced around him, calling him to play. He would not.

But perhaps someone else would. They were going to someone. They weren't just wandering aimlessly. Neji was sure of that. He followed after them.

Soon he discovered a shadowy figure hunched over next to a tree. Neji moved closer for a better look.

It was Shino. He was gathering up lightning bugs in a jar and observing them. He brought the jar closer to his face, the insects' tiny lights reflecting in his dark glasses. Neji hid behind a tree, watching him. He liked the way his glasses lit up with their greenish lights.

_Shiny… Sparkly_…

Now he wanted to play all over again.

He made a grab for one of the fireflies flocking towards the other ninja and tripped.

"Who's there?" Shino asked, turning around.

Neji lifted his head, ashamed that he had fallen prey to his instincts once again. He picked himself up and over to Shino. "I was just taking a walk," he lied. "What are you doing out here?"

"I live right over there." Shino gestured down a dark street. "Besides, I couldn't sleep. Too many fireflies. I couldn't pass it up."

"You collecting them or something?"

"No." Shino held up the jar, peering at his specimens. "I'm simply observing them. These ones are glowing unusually brightly for some reason. I wonder why that is..?"

Neji didn't know that much about Shino, but he knew that he was a major bug-nerd. And he was a little creepy to boot. Therefore, he didn't find it that unusual to find him out here looking at lightning bugs.

"By the way…" Shino said, still watching his bugs. "Hinata wanted to ask you something, but you're never around anymore."

"Oh?"

"She said that her father is willing to train with you next week. He's too busy training her younger sister to do it sooner. That's all she wanted to tell you."

"Oh. I understand. Thanks for telling me."

Shino lowered the jar. "Now on to my question."

Neji nearly flinched. What did Shino want? "Yes?"

"We're not on the same team, and we don't know that much about each other…"

"Your point?"

"My point is that I know enough about you to know that you couldn't possibly find yourself attracted to Naruto, correct?"

His heart stopped. Then it started to beat at a faster pace once it got going again. He didn't know what to think. All he knew was that he was very confused and feeling very warm and not in a good way. "O- oh? W- what's that supposed to mean?"

"I saw you and Naruto earlier… In the alley outside the Yamanaka flower shop."

_Crap! He saw!_

Shino kept a good grip on the jar, but his face remained unchanged. It was as if the embarrassing ordeal was nothing more than watching a leaf fall from a tree. "Anything you want to say before I jump to conclusions?"

"My intentions were-! It's not what you think! I was just… I just… I was… It's not what you think!"

"I get that. Now tell me what I should think."

Neji's eye twitched. He stuttered, unable to speak. He was starting to panic. He had no answer. This was so unexpected. Shino saw!

"You were rehearsing a play… You were getting ready to perform CPR… You were drunk even though you are under age… All of them are good. Just pick one."

"Huh?" Neji didn't know whether to feel angry, harassed or what. Was Shino teasing him or something? "Just what are you getting at?! I didn't do anything!"

"Then tell me." Shino opened the jar and released his lightning bugs.

Neji watched them fly away with curious eyes. Then he quickly came back to himself and tried to explain. "Listen, Shino… I…"

"Yes?"

He took a deep breath. "I can't tell you what's really going on, but I assure you that there is nothing perverted going on between me and Naruto, or anyone else for that matter."

Shino was still watching Neji's movements very carefully. It was almost as if he were looking for something. Studying him. "Hm. I get that."

"Good, because I can't tell you anything more than that."

"I'm sure."

"Huh?"

"You don't need to. I think I have it pretty much figured out." Shino collected his empty jar and started to walk away. "Good night."

Dumbstruck for a moment, Neji felt the weight of a thousand thoughts popping into his head at once, making him feel dizzy and even more confused than ever. What did Shino mean by that? Did he know? And if he didn't, then what was his theory? Neji spun around and chased after him. "Wait a minute, what's that supposed to mean? Get back here and tell me!"

~*~*~

Naruto woke up to a stabbing pain in his chest. Opening his eyes, he could see Sasuke sleeping on top of him with his chin digging into his chest. He gave him a tap in hopes of getting him to move. When it didn't work, Naruto tried poking him even harder and called out his name.

Sasuke stirred and rolled off to the side.

Naruto sat up, adjusting his nightcap. "What were you sleeping on me for?"

Sasuke gave him no response other than rubbing his eyes and yawning. He was still quite drowsy. He lay on his back in the middle of the bed and gave his exposed stomach a scratch.

Leaving him to finish sleeping, Naruto got out of bed and started to get ready for the day. After he had finished getting dressed, he returned to find Sasuke curled up on his pillow. He couldn't believe that he had slept through the night and was still tired. A little concerned, he approached the bed and lowered his face to Sasuke's level.

"Are you still alive?"

Sasuke cracked open an eyes to glare at him. "What do you think?"

"Just checking." He stroked Sasuke's back, listening to him purr. "Heh, it still works. Hey, you want some breakfast?"

Sasuke stretched his body out like a cat, flexing his fingers and arching his back. Then he sat up and gave his eyes another rub. "Anything but ramen, please…"

Now that was a tough one. Most of what he had consisted of ramen. He had very little else. He started to wander around the room, trying to find anything that might be to Sasuke's liking. When he overturned an empty cereal box, something scampered out from underneath it. It was a rat.

He was used to bugs in his house, but he had gotten very few rats so this was a bit of a surprise. He jumped back away from it. "I wonder how it got in here… I didn't leave the window open, did I?"

As he turned to get Sasuke's opinion, he couldn't help but notice a predatory gleam come to his eye. His eyes were following the rat Naruto had pointed out to him with a hungry look passing over his face.

"Sasuke?" he asked, unsure what to think. "Are you ok?"

Licking his lips, Sasuke crouched down on the corner of the mattress, ready to pounce. He only saw the rat as one thing and that was breakfast. With a nimble pounce, Sasuke flew across the room and trapped the rat in the corner. He held the poor creature down with both hands, watching it squirm. It was a rather cruel thing to watch, but Naruto was too shocked to do anything else. Meal in hand, Sasuke lifted the rat up high over his head by its tail. He opened his mouth and shoved it in.

"Sasuke!" he barked. The ninja paused and turned back to him, the rat's tail hanging from his mouth. Kneeling down beside Sasuke, Naruto pointed at the rat in his mouth. "Spit it out!" He gave Sasuke a few whaps on the back, trying to make him cough it up. "Spit it out right now!"

Sasuke choked on the rat and spat it out when Naruto gave his head a good hard smack. It was still alive. He didn't have time to bite into it yet, but the rat was covered with saliva. Sasuke cast a sad eye at the rat that was staggering over to the door, trying to escape. He glared at Naruto vehemently but it was ignored.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Naruto snapped.

"I was eating my breakfast, you idiot! What did it look like?"

"It looked like you were eating a rat! A live rat! A _rat_!" Naruto stressed that last word just to make sure he was being clear to his teammate.

Finally coming to an understanding, Sasuke's face turned white and he started to spit the taste out of his mouth. "Gross! I was! I was eating a rat, wasn't I?! Disgusting!" He ran to the fridge and guzzled an entire carton of milk to wash the taste off his tongue. "Nasty!"

"Why were you eating a rat?!"

"How the hell should I know?!" Sasuke spat. "I wasn't even aware that I was doing it until you pointed it out to me!"

"Ok, ok, don't yell at me. I'll get you something to eat. Good stuff, this time." Naruto looked in the fridge, pushing Sasuke aside. "Hmm… Maybe I should do some shopping for you guys…"

"Never mind. I'll just go home to eat. I'll see you later." But as Sasuke made for the door, he realized something. "Where's Neji?"

Naruto looked around. He was missing. "Do you think he went home?"

"I'm not sure…" Sasuke gave a shrug. "Not that I care or anything."

~*~*~

Neji had a whole list of bad days now, all happening in the same week. It was hard to pick which one was worse, but this day seemed to take the cake. In order to help Neji 'get over his fear and strengthen his nerve', Gai had called them all together to train for the day. He almost wished he was still chasing after Shino for answers. Why did he give up? Anything was better than this.

"Neji, my little prodigy!" he declared in a loud voice. Neji shuddered. "Never fear! Might Gai will aid you in any way he can and help you overcome this unfortunate anxiety of yours. Not to worry!"

"Yay…" Neji moaned miserably.

"Alright! Let's get down to business!" Gai turned to the two standing behind him. "Tenten, Lee… On my count, attack Neji full force!"

His head snapped up. "What?!"

"Why, it's just the thing for you, my dear boy!" Gai gave him his trademark pose coupled with a shiny smile. "It's the surefire way to cure you of your nervousness. You'll never have to worry about running off during a battle again."

"Yeah, because my legs will be broken." What was he thinking?!

"Neji, Neji, Neji…" Gai put an arm around his shoulders. "You try so hard… A noble thing and I'm proud of that aspect of you. But once in a while, it's nice to let someone else help you for a change. Do you see what I'm saying?"

Neji groaned out a 'yes'.

"Wonderful!" Gai stepped away. "We'll toughen you up in no time at all. Ready, you two?"

Tenten was unsure, but Lee was pumped.

"Great! Ok, go!"

"Huh?!"

Obeying Gai's orders, Tenten picked up a handful of kunai and Lee took a running leap, ready to kick Neji in the face.

_I hate you, Gai_…

* * *

Please review! Neji needs comfort! ^-^

(And to set the record straight: NO Neji is NOT gay) Just keep reading. The next one will be up soon.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15:**

"Ow!" Neji winced in pain as Tenten helped him dress his wounds. He was covered with cuts and bruises. He had a powerful urge to lick at his cuts and scrapes, but Tenten had gotten there first with a handful of bandages.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, Neji, but it's just plain weird." She placed another bandage on his exposed leg. "You're not yourself."

"You don't know the half of it…"

She wrapped up his bloody calf with gauze with a sigh. "You can talk to me, you know. I'm not just another teammate. I'm a girl, too, and we're good listeners. If there's anything you need to talk about, I'm right here for you. And I won't punch you, either. That's Gai's way of helping people out."

"No kidding…" Neji rubbed the back of his neck. It was so sore. He was battered and bruised and for what? Gai was an idiot.

"Are you feeling alright, Neji?"

"I'm fine."

Tenten stopped bandaging him for a moment to look him in the eye. "Like I said, you're not yourself. It's not like you to run off like you did the other day and it's not like you to just stand there and take a hit like that. Lee mopped the floor with you. He's celebrating right now. He's even talking about a rematch with you, one-on-one this time. What's with you?"

In truth, Neji wanted to tell her and get it over with. Clearly the potion wasn't going to wear off anytime soon and he was growing impatient. He couldn't spend the rest of his life like this. Telling Tenten wouldn't be so bad. But he was still very embarrassed about it and couldn't bring himself to tell her.

"I've just been going through some things right now."

"What kind of things?"

"Nothing. It's not important…" Neji yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Tenten moved closer to his face.

"What?"

"Just how much sleep did you get last night?"

Neji looked away, uncomfortable with how close she was. "Why?"

"Because of those bags under your eyes. And you yawned just now. You look tired."

"I am," he admitted. "You try going a few rounds with Gai full-force. I had you and Lee to worry about, too. Of course I'm tired. And no, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"You should take better care of yourself, you know." Tenten pulled out another bandage. "Now hold still. You have a cut on your chin right there."

Neji held perfectly still while Tenten placed the bandage over his cut.

"The bleeding stopped. That's good."

"You did it," Neji muttered.

Tenten chuckled lightly. "Yeah, sorry about that. I thought that you could dodge that kunai. Sorry, it was Gai's orders."

"Hm."

"Now keep your head still. Lee got you in the face a few times, right? I want to make sure you won't have a shiner or anything."

Neji held his head still and kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, thinking that she was only going to look. But she lifted her hands up and placed them under his chin, holding his head steady. Her warm hands on his jaw made Neji's face twitch ever so slightly. He wasn't in any pain, but he almost wished that he was. Why? Because having her this close to him, holding his head made him feel like purring.

She turned his head this way and that, getting a good look at him. "Hmm… I'm not seeing any real damage…" She turned his head one way and then another, inadvertently scratching him behind the ear. The gentle touch made Neji shiver. "You ok?"

"Uh-huh…" He was slipping into cat-mode once again. He loved having his ears scratched.

Paying no attention, Tenten went back to looking him over. Her thumbs pressed down lightly into his cheeks as she carefully lifted his head up. Her fingers caressed behind his jaw and down his neck. It felt wonderful. He closed his eyes lazily and started to purr.

Tenten raised a brow. "What was that?"

"Dunno…" Neji mumbled sleepily.

"I could have sworn that I heard you purr just now."

Neji moved closer to her, cat instincts taking over, and purred again. "That feels so good."

"What?"

"What you were just doing. No one ever touches me like that."

"What about doctors when you get a checkup? They touch you like that, don't they to make you turn your head and make sure that everything's in order?"

"Yeah, but they don't touch me like _that_." Neji kept his eyes closed. "You're hands are so warm and gentle. But they are a little rough."

"Oh. Sorry. I just train so much and handle so many weapons, I just-"

"But I like it. It's not quite like sandpaper. They're softer than that, but still rough. It feels really good."

"Oh. Ok." Just before she could get comfortable with this, she pulled her hands away. "Wait a minute."

"What?" Neji still hadn't opened his eyes.

"This is too weird. This is a side of you I haven't seen before. Since when have you..? No, that's not it. Why would you say things like that? No, even that's not my real question. How do I put it?"

Before she could figure it out, Neji had curled up on her lap.

Her face turned red. "Neji? What are you doing?"

He snuggled up to her warm body and tucked his hands up under his chin. "Is it ok if I take just a little nap right now like this?" His voice was soft and distant like he was already asleep.

"But on me?" Tenten didn't know what to think. If she didn't know better, she would think that Neji was flirting with her or something. "Why?"

He sighed sleepily. "I don't know. I just feel like sleeping here right now. Just a little nap, ok?"

"But Neji…"

She felt his body relax, all the tension slipping away. He was drifting away. "Is it… ok… Tenten..? Just a… little… nap…" It was too late for her to protest now. Neji had already drifted off.

She placed a hand on his head, stroking his hair as he slept. "If you must."

His purred turned to snores as he slept on her lap in the middle of the grass.

Something strange was going on with him and Tenten knew it. She needed more information to make sure she had the right idea. But she couldn't be right, could she? It was too farfetched. The way he was acting… He couldn't be, could he?

~*~*~

"How's that milk, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. He had just given Sasuke a big bowl of milk and watched him lap in up off the floor, very amused. "Good, huh?"

Sasuke blinked back at him before his eyes trailed down to the bowl in front of him. He couldn't care less anymore. All he knew was that there was milk in front of him and he wasn't going to pass it up. Sasuke finished his meal and yawned widely, before lying down on the floor, getting ready to go to sleep. Naruto blinked and then smirked. Sasuke looked kind of cute like that, all curled up on the floor. Sasuke seemed to have gotten into the habit of sleeping where he dropped.

Acting like a caring older brother, Naruto draped a blanket over Sasuke's body and watched him sleep curled up underneath it. He had no idea that Sasuke could look so cute and innocent. Unable to resist the urge, Naruto patted Sasuke's head, smiling when Sasuke purred.

_Good thing Kakashi-sensei gave us the day off today_, Naruto thought. _Sasuke's too tired to do anything_.

"Naruto!"

He flinched and fell over. Sasuke frowned in his sleep and hid his face under the blanket. Naruto rushed to the window and shushed the person responsible for the racket.

"Shh! Be quiet! Sasuke's trying to sleep!"

Lee stood just outside the window looking sad. "Oh. I am so sorry. I did not know." He perked up again. "But guess what, Naruto! I beat Neji! I finally did it!"

His jaw dropped. "What?!"

"For real! I did it! Ok, Tenten and Gai-sensei were there, too, but I did it! He did not stand a chance! I feel pumped! Like I could take on anything!"

Naruto took a nervous glance back at Sasuke on the floor. Lee was still way too loud. He was starting to wake him up. "Lee, please be quiet. I really need Sasuke to sleep, ok?" After all, if he was asleep, he couldn't complain or tear up his couch.

"Sorry, Naruto. I just cannot contain my enthusiasm!"

"Contain it, already!"

It was too late. Sasuke sat up and looked at the window. "What the hell's he doin' here?" he slurred sleepily. He was less than happy about being woken up.

"Sasuke Uchiha!" Lee tried to climb through the window but Naruto held him back. "I would like to spar with you! Right here, right now!"

"What?!"

"It is true, Naruto. I am so pumped up, I cannot possibly lose! Let us go!"

A very grumpy Sasuke got to his feet and marched over to the window. Without a word, he grabbed Lee by the front of his jumpsuit and pulled him forward. They locked eyes for a moment, then Sasuke snarled at him.

"For your information, I just fell asleep and I'm really tired, which makes me a little less than happy about being woken up, you moron. So I think it's in your best interest if you leave right now while you still have the legs to do it."

Naruto gulped in fear, backing up. Sasuke wasn't in a good mood. It was scary.

But Lee was unfazed. He still wanted a fight. "Come on, Sasuke. Just one quick spar and you can go back to your nap."

"I said no!"

He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "I will even let you pick the spot. Where would you like to fight? Here, the street, the woods? Wherever is fine with me."

Sasuke's eyes lit up with a furious glare and showed his teeth at Lee in a threatening manner.

Fearing the outcome, Naruto tried to get Lee to leave once again. "Please, Lee. I don't think he…"

"Come on, Sasuke Uchiha! The fight is on!"

Hissing, Sasuke swiped Lee across the face with his nails. Lee pulled back and put a hand to his face. He looked at his hand and saw tiny drops of blood on his fingers. Sasuke had cut him. He wasn't expecting that.

Naruto ran forward and grabbed Sasuke from behind, holding him back. His dark hair was standing on end and he was still hissing, ready to tear Lee limp from limp. "Lee, I think you better leave!"

"But he-"

"Now!" Naruto pulled Sasuke into the other room, but both him and Lee were itching for a fight. Naruto threw Sasuke into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. He ran back to the window and shoved Lee out. He ran to the bathroom and forced his way in, shoving Sasuke aside with the door. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

Sasuke's hair was still standing on end and was hissing furiously. He wasn't calming down.

Naruto took the hose from the bathtub and sprayed him in the face. He yowled and flailed about. When Naruto turned off the water, Sasuke was left sopping wet and miserable.

"What the hell is your problem?!" he spat.

Naruto put the hose back. "I was trying to calm you down. You were acting all weird. You were hissing at Lee."

He blinked. "I was?"

"Yeah!"

"Oh. Huh… That's funny. I don't remember any of that."

"Lee, for crying out loud, not now!"

Both ninja turned.

"That sounded like Neji."

Outside, Lee had Neji cornered by the side of the road, still wanting to fight. Neji, however, wanted no part of it. He had just embarrassed himself in front of Tenten, had Shino on his case and was not about to add Lee to the list as well.

"Just leave me the hell alone, Lee. I'm in no mood."

"What is the matter? Afraid that I will beat you without Gai-sensei's or Tenten's help? Put them up!"

"You've got to be…"

"Hyah!" Lee punched Neji in the face and sent him reeling.

Neji put a hand to his face and could feel his cheek beginning to swell. Frowning, Neji stood his ground. "Fine! Have it your way!"

"Yes!" Lee was overjoyed to have a sparring partner now. He charged in and Neji kicked him away. Lee quickly recovered and tried to attack him from another angle. This time, Neji couldn't react in time and took the hit to his shoulder. After that blow landed, Lee was more pumped than ever and wouldn't let up for a second. He attacked Neji with a flurry of punches and kicks.

Naruto and Sasuke watched from the safety of the window, not knowing whether to help or watch a free fight from so close to the house.

Neji threw his arms over his head to protect himself. Lee was doing great. Too bad he wasn't so lucky.

Confident that he was going to win at last, Lee moved in for the final blow. He curved his hand into a fist and threw the final punch.

Something in Neji's brain snapped and he slashed the green beast across the face with his open hand, drawing blood from the other side of Lee's face.

"Wait a minute, what is that?" Naruto leaned out of the window for a closer look. Neji was down on all fours, hissing with his hair standing on end. "This doesn't look good."

Neji's gaze was fixed on Lee. He raised his right hand up, curling his fingers making it look more like a paw. He hissed at Lee once again.

Lee stood dumbstruck. "Neji?"

"Meow!"

"Eh?" Lee's stance fell. All he could do was stare at him.

Neji stood on his toes and left knuckles, back raised. He yowled at Lee, showing his teeth.

"Neji?" Lee stood his ground, but his will to fight was diminishing fast. "Are you ok?"

The Hyuga's eyes flashed with an aggressive gleam. Neji had become feral. With a hiss, Neji pounced and landed on top of Lee and started to scratch up his face and chest.

"Holy crap!" Naruto jumped from the window to help. "Neji, stop!"

"What's gotten into him?"Sasuke wondered as he followed Naruto out onto the street.

"Neji, stop it!"

Neji didn't listen. He just kept slashing at him.

"Neji!" Naruto grabbed him from behind and pulled him back. "Snap out of it!"

"Rarow! Meow! Rarow!"

"Neji!" Naruto punched him in the head. "I said snap out of it!"

Hissing, Neji turned around and scratched him across the face. Then he turned back to Lee and gave him one final slash across the chest. Lee lay in the street, playing dead. If he submitted to Neji now, maybe he couldn't get worse later on. It went against his fighting nature, but there wasn't much else he could do. Neji had gone nuts!

Neji licked the blood off his hands and stood over him in triumph. Then as quickly as it happened, it was all over. Blinking, Neji gave a look around. He turned a confused eye to Naruto and asked, "What just happened?"

Still holding his face, Naruto returned his confused gaze. "What do you mean what happened?"

"Just what I said." Neji rubbed his head. "I don't remember anything. I feel like I blacked out or something. What happened to me?"

"You almost killed Lee," Sasuke answered matter-of-factly. "You really did a number on him, too."

Neji gasped. "I hit him!?"

"And how!"

Gasping again, Neji turned back to Lee. He still hadn't moved since the fight was over. "Why did I..? Why didn't you guys stop me?!"

"We tried!" Naruto shouted back. "I did, anyway. Sasuke was just kind of there."

"Gee, thanks…"

Lee sat up, jumpsuit in tatters and face covered in scratch marks. His mouth was moving, but no words came out.

"Lee…" Neji began, but couldn't finish. "Lee, I… I'm… I… Lee…"

Lee found his voice. "Neji…"

"It's not… That is… I'm sorry… I didn't mean… Are you… I mean, did I… Am I… I am… Lee…" He couldn't find the right words no matter how hard he tried. He wanted to explain himself, even though he had no idea what had just happened. He wanted to apologize, but he hadn't had much practice in that department either. He hardly ever had to apologize to Lee before. What could he say to him?

"Oh, Neji…"

"Lee, I'm…"

"That was… amazing!"

"Huh?"

Lee jumped to his feet, excited like never before. "That was a new technique, am I right?! That was so cool! You have got to teach me it! What is it called? When did you ever come up with it? It was something out of this world! Amazing! Incredible!"

Good thing Lee was an idiot. He had no idea what was going on.

Or did he?

Now that he thought about it, Neji was beginning to suspect that it really was a technique, after all.

"Please teach it to me, Neji! Please! I am begging you!" Lee was jumping up and down like an energetic puppy, grabbing Neji's arm tightly. "Teach me! Teach me, please! Please! Please!"

"Shut up already!" Neji shook his arm free. "Let me think."

"Please teach it to me!"

Naruto smirked. Lee really wanted to learn that scratch attack and was actually begging Neji to teach it to him. An evil grin found its way onto his face as a cruel idea popped into him head. "You know…" he drawled. "Neji might just teach it to you if you did something nice for him."

"Anything!" Lee jumped up and down excitedly.

Still grinning, Naruto gave him the instruction. "Try scratching him behind the ear."

"Like this?" Lee tickled Neji behind his left ear.

His leg jerked and he moaned as if he were being given a wonderful massage. "Lee..!" Despite the wonderful feeling, Neji wasn't pleased. It was a stupid trick, courtesy of Naruto. He was embarrassing him in public again.

"He also likes it when you scratch under his chin, too."

_Naruto, you idiot! _

Lee started to scratch him under the chin, caressing his jaw bone with his fingertips.

Independent of his will, Neji started to purr.

Lee started to smile. "Heh… This is kind of funny." He tickled Neji's neck. "He is acting almost like a cat."

Naruto's smile went away. He didn't mean for Lee to find out. Only to tease Neji a little bit. "Don't be silly, Lee," he said nervously. "H- he's not a cat. What are you, crazy? Heh heh…"

"I know. He could not be a cat. I know Neji. He is one hundred percent human. A true ninja!" He kept scratching him. "I mean, sure, he has been acting strangely these past few days, but he could never be a cat. He looks nothing like one. Besides, if he were a cat, he would eat nothing but fish and milk, take long naps in the sun, meow a lot, like having his ears and chin scratched and purr when you…" Lee's hand froze on Neji's neck. He eyed Neji up and down with unusually round eyes. "Oh, my…"

He had figured it out.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**:

"So… they are both cats?"

"For the most part, I guess you can say that." Naruto and the others had just spent the last hour trying to explain the concept to Lee. He understood the situation, but was still unclear about their condition. "Basically, they have the mentality of cats. They don't think they're cats, they just have cat instincts. I don't think that they're turning into cats physically, but it's too soon to tell for sure. It might just happen. They're getting much worse."

Lee nodded his head. "Oh. I think I get it now. So you are here taking care of them?"

"Yup."

"But why? Are they incapable of taking care of themselves?"

"Apparently. I mean this morning Sasuke was trying to eat a live rat. I had to stop him because he couldn't stop himself. I guess that's why I'm here."

"I see…" Lee cast his gaze upon the two ninja cats. The excitement of the day had been too much for them, it seemed, for they had both collapsed on the floor by their feet for a nap. Sasuke and Neji were curled up together on the floor bathed in the sunshine streaming through the window behind them. Lee reached down and stroked Neji's head and watched him smile at the gentle touch. "So they cannot help themselves at all?"

"Nope." Naruto watched as Sasuke stretched in his sleep before laying still once again.

Lee puffed out his chest and clenched his fist over his heart as if swearing an oath. "Very well, then I will help, too!"

"What are you saying?"

Tears started to roll down Lee's face, overcome with emotion. "I must do it! It is the right thing to do! It is my duty to help out a comrade in need, no matter the situation! It is what Gai-sensei would want! He has taught me well. I will aid you in this tragic situation! I will help out in any way I can!"

"Then help by keeping your voice down, would you?" Naruto hissed and pulled Lee down by the arm. "I can't have them wake up and start again. When they're awake, all I get are complaints. Besides, you woke Sasuke up before… If you wake him up again, he'll be grumpy as hell!"

"Oh, right! I am so sorry!"

Neji frowned in his sleep and moaned softly. "Hnuhnn..!"

"Shh! Lee, be quiet! You'll wake them up!"

"Sor-"

Naruto clasped a hand over his mouth. "Shh! Shut up!"

"Both of you shut up!" Sasuke rolled over, covering his ears with his hands. "You're too loud! How's anyone supposed to get any sleep around here?"

Naruto pointed at Lee. "It's his fault!"

"Mine?"

Neji rolled onto his back moaning and throwing an arm over his face. "Ohh..! What's all the racket? I'm trying to sleep here."

"Naruto was-"

"Lee was being an idiot and yelling!"

Neji slowly sat up with another groan. "Right now, you're the one yelling. Don't you have a softer volume you can talk in?"

"But I'm whispering!" he yelled.

Neji covered his ears. "God! First you give the secret away to Lee, now you're trying to make me deaf! I should just go back to my house and hide."

Sasuke's stomach started to growl. Without a word to anyone, he decided to help himself to Naruto's fridge. After looking inside and not finding any fish or fresh milk, he closed the door and gave Naruto a nudge. "Got anything good to eat around here? I'm starved."

"Help yourself."

Frowning, Sasuke gave him another hard nudge. "It's all crap in there. Find something good."

Naruto brushed his arm away. "Go away and leave me alone."

"That's my line. Come on, I'm starving."

"I'm sick of you ordering me around in my own house. I have food, you just won't eat it."

Neji's stomach growled, too.

Realizing that he couldn't refuse, Naruto got up and moved towards the door. It was better than having to deal with two grumpy and hungry ninja cats trapped in the same house as him. Besides, if they were full, they were more likely to go back to sleep. Only then were they quiet.

"Where the hell are you going?"

"Where do you think?" Naruto called over his shoulder. "Out to get food because you don't like anything I have."

"With good reason." Sasuke folded his arms. "I saw milk standing up in the fridge and it wasn't even in a carton."

"Not true!"

"Is so! I saw it myself!"

"Aw, stuff it!" Naruto picked up a cat toy and shoved it in Sasuke's mouth. "Now, I'll go out and get you some food, ok? Remember, I'm doing this for you. I don't have to."

Sasuke watched him leave for the door.

"And when I come back, I better not find my stuff with claw marks in it again like last time."

Sasuke glared at him, and folded his arms in a bitter motion. He still hadn't taken the toy out of his mouth, so the whole motion just made him look foolish.

Lee followed after Naruto. "I will accompany him to the store. Will you be ok here without me?"

"We're not babies, Lee," Neji informed him. "Just go. It'll give us some time to nap in peace. Right, Sasuke?"

"Mnff."

"You know…" Lee put a finger to his chin thoughtfully. "That is not a bad look for you, Sasuke."

He glanced down at the toy in his mouth and then back up at Lee with a growl. But Lee had already left.

The toy in his mouth chimed as he turned his head. The toy mouse in his mouth had a bell fixed to its tail and had a funny smell to it.

"Think we have enough?" Naruto asked.

Lee shifted the grocery bags in his arms. "I should think so. This should be plenty."

"Good." Naruto nearly dropped one of the bags in his arms. "Man! Wouldn't they get sick of fish after a while?"

"Not if you are a cat, I guess…"

They carried their bundles back to the apartment, Naruto complaining every step of the way. Once the door was unlocked and opened, they were in for a really weird greeting. Naruto had suspected the two to be sleeping by the time they got back; certainly not this.

"Hi, guys. We're back. And we brought home fish."

Sasuke ran to the door and threw his arms over Naruto's shoulders. "Yay! You're back! I missed you so much!"

Naruto dropped the bags on the floor with a thud and tried to pull Sasuke off of him. "What's gotten into you? Are you hungry or just happy to see me?"

"Both!" Sasuke tried to kiss him.

"Holy crap! NO!" Naruto forced him back. "What the hell, man?"

Sasuke giggled and took the whole thing like a game. He staggered to his feet and tried again. "I love you, Naruto!"

Naruto pulled out a kunai. "Stay the hell away from me!"

"Naruto, what is going on here?" Lee tried to steal a peek from over his back.

"He's gone nuts! He's trying to make-out with me or something! He's freaking me out!"

"But why is he..?"

"How the heck should I know? He's wigging out just like Neji did the other…" Naruto looked around. "By the way, where is he?"

Out of nowhere, Neji appeared and wrapped his arms around Lee's neck. "Welcome home, La-la-la Lee!"

He jumped aside. "What did you just call me?"

Neji giggled and rubbed his face against his. "I love you so much, Lee! You're my best friend in the whole world!"

Naruto lowered the knife in his hand. "What the..? This again? He's acting just like before. But so is Sasuke, now. What's going on here?"

Sasuke threw something through the air and it landed on the floor with a jingle. It was the toy mouse he had shoved into his mouth from before. Sasuke hurried over and pounced on the toy, rolling over it again and again.

"Sasuke what are you doing with that thing?"

Sasuke smiled and stopped rolling around long enough to try to kiss him again. "I love you!"

"Stop that!"

Neji turned his pink face over to him with a goofy smile. "Hi, banana-head. I love you!"

"Please stop saying that. I wish you would stop talking crazy."

Sasuke started to rub his face against Naruto's leg, purring. "I love you, I love you, I love you!"

"Shut up!"

Lee bent down and picked up the toy mouse. "What is this?"

"Oh, just some toy I got for them. No big deal." Naruto shoved Sasuke away again. "Damn it, Sasuke! Stop trying to kiss me!"

"I love you!"

"I don't care!"

Lee gave the mouse a shake and it jingled. Neji tried to bat at the bell tied to its tail, cheeks still pink and warm. Suspicious, Lee took a sniff. "Naruto, this has catnip in it!"

"What?"

"Catnip! You know, the stuff that attracts cats and makes them act loopy?"

Naruto looked from Sasuke to the toy. "You think that's what's making them act this way?"

"Positive!"

Neji purred and tried to kiss Lee's face. "Bushy-brow, I love you! I love you so much!"

"But that can't be right," Naruto said. "Back at the flower shop, Neji started to act this way before and the toy was nowhere around then."

Lee thought about it. "There must have been a plant of it nearby and he had gotten a whiff of it. Was he near a plant with blue or white leaves on it?"

Naruto tried to remember. "I think so… yeah, he was."

"That must have been it. He got a hold of some catnip plants."

"So that's what's making them act all loopy!"

Sasuke rolled onto his back and hugged Naruto's leg, purring like crazy. "I love you, Naru-Naru! Love, love, love you so!"

"Does it also make cats overly affectionate with anything that moves, 'cause I'm getting a lot of it right now from him?"

"Yes."

"Great." Naruto tried to shake his leg free. "Then I'm stuck with a lovey-dovey Uchiha for a while. Just how long is this supposed to last?"

Neji took his hands off Lee and started to nibble on the catnip-filled toy. Lee pulled it away, not wanting him to get any higher than he already was.

"I could not say. The best thing we can do right now is get all the catnip away from them and wait for it to wear off."

"Got it!"

It took them a while but, at last, they had rounded up both intoxicated ninja and locked up the catnip. Sasuke kept trying to hug Naruto and giggled giddily, but somehow Naruto managed to hold him back. Neji had been suspiciously quiet for the past couple of minutes, but that could have just been because he was coming down from the catnip. Either way, Naruto and Lee had their hands too full with Sasuke to care. Sasuke looped his arms around Lee's neck and snuggled into his chest, purring.

"Please stop that, Sasuke. You do not know what you are doing."

"I know that you are warm and nice." He pushed Lee away and went back to hugging Naruto. "But he's so much softer! I like banana-head better. Come here and give Sasuky-wasky a huggle-wuggle!"

"For the love of God, shut up! I can't that the cutesy talk anymore!" Naruto held Sasuke down with both hands while Lee sat on him. "Just snap out of it already! Man, it didn't take Neji this long to calm down…"

Lee looked around. "Hey… Where is Neji, anyway?"

Eyes wide, Naruto looked frantically around. "Damn it! He's gone!"

Lee jumped up. "We must find him at once!" He made a run for the door. This allowed Sasuke the opportunity to get up and jump on Naruto for the millionth time. He started to snuggle him again.

"Lee! You let him up! Sasuke, get off!"

"I am sorry, Naruto. But I must find Neji! That is top priority! He could get himself hurt in this state!"

"Good point. Besides, someone's bound to see him if he's outside. We'll have a lot of explaining to do if someone sees him acting all weird like that." Naruto pushed Sasuke onto the couch. "Let's go!"

"But what about him?" Lee pointed to Sasuke who kept pawing at Naruto's pant leg with a goofy smile.

"No problem." He whipped up a shadow clone. "He'll take care of it."

Naruto's clone looked at Sasuke with a groan. "Ohh..! Do I have to?"

"Yes!" barked the real one. "Good luck to you! Let's move, Lee!"

Outside, Neji was enjoying the warm air and smell of the leaves. Everything around him swirled around in a mixture of colors. He was in love with everything around him. He felt wonderful, like he was on some kind of drug. Nothing bothered him. He felt playful and frisky. He wandered into the grass and rolled around in it. It felt wonderful. He felt wonderful. Everything was wonderful. He purred and rolled over, rubbing his back on the warm fresh grass. Then he rolled over and over again like a log, staining his clean clothes with the green grass. But he didn't care. Still, nothing bothered him. He just wanted to enjoy himself.

He was having so much fun, he didn't notice that someone had gotten close to him.

"Neji?"

He looked up at his name. It was his team's only female. Tenten stood looking baffled. But Neji didn't care. He gave her an enthusiastic wave.

"Are you alright?" she asked, shying away. It was as if she were afraid of him attacking her or something. Neji didn't notice, but to her he must have looked pretty weird.

"Hi, Tenten!" He bounded on all fours over to her and rubbed his body against her legs. "I love you!"

Giving him a quizzical look, Tenten started to shy away even further. "What's going on with you? You're not yourself."

He purred noisily and chased after her. "I feel fine. It's all good." He hugged her legs tightly with his arms, still purring like a maniac.

Tenten struggled to keep her balance. "Neji, you're not yourself. You're acting really weird. What's going on? What's wrong with you? Are you sick or something?"

He gave her legs another squeeze. "Nope. Nothing's wrong. How can it be? How can anything be wrong? I love the grass, I love this day… I love you."

"Neji, I- Ahh!" She lost her balance as Neji continued to hug her legs, pinching them together. She fell to the grass. She tried to stand, but Neji was starting to crawl onto her lap, watching her with a mixture of curiosity and desire. "Neji, what are you doing?"

He sat on her legs, putting his hands on either side of her hips, straddling her. He stared at her, nose to nose and gave a loud purr.

"What? What is it? What are you doing?"

Neji rested his forehead on her chest. "You smell pretty."

"Uh… thanks, I guess…"

He moved a little closer and lifted his head to look at her. His face was still pink and warm, but his eyes had become droopy and very cloudy. "I feel kind of funny…"

"You feel sick?"

"No, not like that… I just feel a little… funny… I feel funny." He put a hand to his head. "How come I feel so warm?"

Suddenly, it all became clear to her. She patted Neji's head and tried to coax him off her body. "Come on, I'll take you home. You can rest there."

He lowered his hand and gave her a smile. "You look out for me a lot, don't you? Even when I don't see it…" He nuzzled her neck with his nose. "I love you, Tenten. I love you so much."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure you do. Now, come on. Let's take you home."

He hugged her around the middle. "I love you. Can I have a kiss?"

"Later."

"No, now. I want one now. Please?"

"I said later."

But Neji was already puckering his lips. "Kissy-kissy?"

"No, Neji. Not now and not here. I told you later, ok?"

He blinked a few times and gave her a frown. "But I wanted a little kiss… Don't you love me, too? I love you."

Tired of this, Tenten had an idea to take Neji's mind off this ridiculous conversation. "Neji, can you do something for me?"

"What?" He had that goofy smile on his face again.

"I need you to count backwards from 68 for me, ok?"

The goofy smile left his face. "Huh?"

"Count backwards from 68."

He cocked his head to the side, puzzled. "68? 6…8? 68..? 68…"

"Yes. Count backwards from that number starting now. Come on, you can do it."

Despite his confusion, Neji tried his best. "Uh… 68. Um, 68… 67… 66…"

"Good, good. Now keep that up for me, ok?"

"65… 64… 63…"

"Very good." She pulled Neji to his feet. "Now stand up, but keep counting."

Still confused, Neji continued to count, never bothering to ask her why she wanted him to do this. She forced him to walk around, with her leading him every step of the way. He didn't question that either. He just kept counting. "62… 61… 60… 59… 58… 57… 56… 55… 54… 53… 52… 51…" He stopped short with a puzzled expression. "51. 51… 51… Uh… 51… 5… Where the hell am I?"

Smiling, Tenten stopped making him march around. "Feeling more like yourself again? How are you doing?"

Neji gave his head a wild shake, rubbing his temples. "I… I don't know what's going on… How'd I get out here? And when did you..?" He looked at Tenten and his eyes started to sparkle again. "God, I love you." Just as quickly, he blinked and gave another shake of his head. "No! I don't mean that! Why did I say that? Tenten, don't get the wrong idea. I don't feel quite like myself right now."

"It's ok. I understand." She smiled.

"You do?" He inched away, warily.

"Yup. Just a few mood swings. That's all." She pulled her hand up and started to scratch his ear. He purred and told her that he loved her all over again. "That's the kind of thing you expect with catnip."

Hearing the word, Neji pulled away from her. "Wait, what did you just say?"

"Catnip. You've been in it, haven't you?" Her smile widened. "That's why you've been acting so strangely. It's strong stuff. You'll love anything. Don't worry. I won't take it personally."

His jaw moved up and down, but he couldn't make a sound.

"I already know the truth, Neji. I figured it out. I have to admit, though, I didn't believe it at first. It was so farfetched. But after seeing this, there's no doubt in my mind. You're part cat."

He gave a squeak in his throat.

"Don't worry. I haven't old anyone. I wasn't sure at the time."

"T- Tenten… Tenten, I-"

"There he is!"

Neji yelped as he was suddenly tackled to the ground by both Naruto and Lee. They pinned him down and sat on him while he wriggled and squirmed around.

"Do not mind us, Tenten," Lee grunted out. "We will handle this."

"He didn't do anything to you, did he?" Naruto asked.

"Well, he did purr and rub against me a little bit."

With a quick glance at each other, Naruto and Lee began shouting off lies to fool her.

"It's ok!" Neji called out from under them. "She knows!"

"Oh." Naruto got off him. "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Because you were too busy plowing me into the ground, that's why!"

Tenten cleared her throat. "Ahem. Uh, anyone mind explaining this all to me?"

* * *

Now Tenten knows. LOL Neji's so much more fun on catnip, isn't he?

Please review! ^-^


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

"Aw, I think it's cute!" Tenten giggled.

"It's not, and stop laughing at us!"

"I'm not! I'm not! I'm laughing at the situation. I think the idea of you two being cats is so cute."

"It's not cute! It's a nightmare!" Sasuke screamed. He was still hiding in the kitchen. He hadn't left that room after he had calmed down from his catnip intoxication. "You try living your life as a cat! It's horrible!"

"But you're clear about this, right?" Naruto asked the only girl in the room. "No one is supposed to know about this. Got it?"

"I got it, I got it. Don't worry, you guys. I know to keep it a secret. Give me some credit, ok?"

"This is wonderful!" Lee bounced. "Now the team knows about Neji's sad, pathetic condition. The only thing that would make this complete is Gai-sensei's knowledge of this! But do not worry, I will not tell him. I will do my best to not embarrass Neji any further."

The only thing that kept Neji from rebutting against being called sad and pathetic was the five-inch wall between him and the next room where Lee stood. After being dragged back to Naruto's apartment, he had taken to hiding from the others. Mostly Tenten, though. He found the whole thing so embarrassing. The way he had acted in front of her, the parts he remembered anyway, were so humiliating. He couldn't believe himself. How could he ever show his face to his team again?

"Neji?"

He flinched. He peered around the corner at Tenten. She patted the spot on the couch next to her, silently asking him to sit with her.

"Quit hiding. Come over here."

He slowly slid his body further behind the wall until only the right side of his face was showing.

"Don't be shy. Come on."

He gulped and pulled back behind the wall, hiding his red face from view. He could hear her laughing.

"This is kind of fun," she laughed. "What can I do?"

"How about keep your mouth shut?" Sasuke barked from under the table.

"No, no, that's not what I meant. What I meant was, what kind of things do you guys like to do?"

"Be left alone." Sasuke hid his face behind his raised knees.

"What about cat games?"

"No way! Forget it!" Sasuke crawled further under the table away from her. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction. It was far too embarrassing. There was no way he was going to play like a cat. No way. Not in front of her.

"Oh, come on. If Naruto and Lee can have their fun so can I." She picked up a ball of yarn and rolled it under the table. "Here, kitty-kitty-kitty…"

"No!" Sasuke shut his eyes and covered his ears. "Stop it! Don't make me..!"

"Kitty-kitty-kitty…" She clicked her tongue in an attempt to coax him out.

Curious, Sasuke opened his eyes and looked down at the yarn ball.

Tenten clicked her tongue again.

Sasuke lowered his head and sniffed the fuzzy yarn ball. He gave it a little push with his fingertips. He watched it roll across the floor and bump into a chair leg. Now overwhelmed by a strong desire to play, Sasuke chased after the yarn and started to tangle his arms up in the thin yellow strands. Tenten grabbed an end and lifted it off the floor with Sasuke's hands still attached to it. His arm went up and down as she moved the yarn in the same motion.

Neji's pale face peered around the corner for a look. He was curious to see what was making Tenten laugh so much. She was playing with Sasuke. He was lying on the floor on his side, one arms raised, tangled in the yarn she was pulling up and down. When she tried to shake it free, his other hand came up to pull the yarn back down. She laughed and tugged even harder, trying to shake him loose.

He watched them in absolute silence with curious eyes. He wanted to play, too. But that wasn't why he was staring. Yes, the movement of the yarn enticed him to play, but it was her laugh that brought him out of hiding. He had never heard her laugh so much before. He liked her laugh. It was pleasant and reassuring. It tempted him to come closer.

But he couldn't allow himself to do that. He had gone through enough embarrassment for one day. But he still couldn't take his eyes off them. He leaned against the doorframe and watched.

Sasuke gave a playful growl and swatted at the yarn. He wrapped his hands around the yellow string and gave it a tug. Tenten's arm went down, but she pulled back up, making Sasuke purr and kick the air with his legs. Next he tried to nibble at the yarn with his open mouth, wanting to capture the last strand before she had a chance to pull it away from him. She laughed, watching him with amusement. Sasuke was much more playful as a cat. He was a lot more pleasant to be around, that was for sure.

Neji watched them with a look of longing. They looked like they were having fun. What he wouldn't give to be the one on her lap right there instead of Sasuke.

"Neji?"

He jumped and scurried back behind the wall. He peered out at her, allowing only his right eye and forehead to show.

Tenten called him over. "Come on. You can play, too. There's plenty of string to go around."

He slid slowly behind the wall until only his shoulder was visible. He could hear her giggling and calling him shy. He wasn't shy. He was just embarrassed and didn't want to be tempted any further. No matter what, he was not going to play.

"Aw, forget about him," Naruto said. "He's been like this for God knows how long. He keeps moping around like a total baby. I don't know what his problem is. He won't talk to us about it."

"Because it's none of your business!" Neji called from the other room. "I shouldn't have to explain such an obvious thing to you! How simple-minded could you be not to know?"

"I said it before and I'll say it again. Get over yourself! How are we ever going to be able to know what's wrong if you don't tell us?"

Suddenly, Sasuke snapped back to himself and sat up. He looked from Tenten to the yarn and blushed. When she giggled at his expression, he scowled and moved away.

"What's the matter? Embarrassed?"

He snorted and turned up his nose. "I'm going out. I can't take being in here for another minute with you people. I'm going for a walk."

"Alone? By yourself?" Naruto inquired.

"Yeah, why not? I don't need a babysitter. I can handle myself."

"Ok…" Naruto folded his arms behind his head with a sigh. "It's just that… Well, what if you see a dog or something that gets your cat-mind worked up or something?"

Sasuke paused with one hand on the doorknob. He shivered. "Ok, fine. You can come, too."

Smirking, Naruto followed after him. "I knew that would change your mind."

"Just shut up."

~*~*~

It was a pretty nice afternoon. The sun was still out and birds were singing in the trees, making Sasuke's mouth water. He had a strong desire to chase, or rather hunt after them and see what they tasted like. But he put that thought aside and continued to walk beside Naruto. He kept trying to scratch his ear, but Sasuke batted his hand away every time. There was no way he was going to allow himself to act like a cat in public and embarrass himself in front of everyone in the village. After a while, lucky for him, Naruto gave up and settled for walking in silence like Sasuke was doing.

As they passed by the library, they noticed Sakura walking down the steps with a stack of books in her arms. Naruto ran to greet her. "Sakura!"

She glanced up and she showed off a bright smile. "Oh, hello, Sasuke!"

Naruto tripped and stumbled to a halt. "But _I_ said hello..!" _Why does Sasuke get the attention?! I was the one who said 'hi' to her! He did nothing, but she gives him the attention?! It's just not fair!_

Sasuke grunted to her. It wasn't even a word but to Sakura it was a marvelous hello from her greatest crush.

Naruto looked down and noticed a small piece of paper clutched in her hand. "Hey, isn't that the note I gave to you earlier?"

She nodded. "Yup. Kakashi had given me a list of books I should check out having to do with medical jutsus and antidotes. You guys get hurt a lot so it would be nice to have someone around with medical knowledge." She turned to her other teammate for his input. "Right, Sasuke?"

He ignored her bright eyes and grunted again.

Naruto worked up his courage and asked her something he had been meaning to say for some time now. "Um… Sakura?"

"No, I will not date you."

"That's not what I was going to ask." He put his fingertips together in a very Hinata-like fashion. "Uh… I was wondering if you could do me a huge favor."

"That depends. What is it?"

As she moved, the books in her arms shifted slightly. One of the books had a dark red tassel sticking out from between the pages. It dangled and swayed, catching Sasuke's eyes.

"You see, I had a problem a little while ago back at my place. Long story short, Sasuke managed to tear up my couch cushion. And since I don't know how to sew, I was kinda wondering if you could do it."

"Oh, come on..!"

"Please?" he begged, putting his hands together. "Please, please, please!"

Despite Naruto wailing right next to him, Sasuke could barely hear him. He was far too engrossed in watching the dangling tassel to care. It was hanging from the top book in Sakura's arms. He wanted to play with it.

"But doesn't that mean that I have to come over to your house to do it? Your place is filthy!"

"But I just cleaned it! Sasuke complained about that, too, so I cleaned the place. It's not that dirty anymore. Please, sew my couch! Please!"

With a huge sigh, Sakura turned her back to him, leading Naruto to believe that she was going to refuse. "Oh, alright... It'll do it if I have time, ok? Just stop whining."

In turning her back, Sakura caused the tassel in the book to sway more, enticing Sasuke closer. He crept closer like a tiger stalking it's pray.

Naruto jumped up and down like a child, oblivious to what Sasuke was doing. "Oh, Sakura! Thank you so much! I could hug you!"

At that moment, Sasuke struck. He reached forward to grab the tassel but missed and, without meaning to, grabbed her chest instead. Mistaking his hand for Naruto's, Sakura dropped her books and turned around, aiming a blind punch at the one responsible.

"YOU PERVERTED IDIOT!"

She nailed Sasuke in the face and sent him flying down the street.

Naruto jumped aside, glad that it wasn't him for once.

When Sakura moved in to finish him off, she realized that the one she had punched wasn't Naruto. He was standing off to the side unhurt. The same couldn't be said for Sasuke, though. He was lying on the ground with a dribble of blood coming out of his mouth. She gasped and rushed to his side.

"Oh, Sasuke, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hit you!" she cried. Then her tone became angry as she rounded on Naruto. "What's the big idea?! Did you push him in the way?!"

"What?! I didn't-"

"Oh, my poor, poor Sasuke!"

Sasuke moaned from the pain on his face and from Sakura kneeling on his gut. This wouldn't have happened if only he could control himself. His impulse to play with the tassel caused this to happen.

_I hate being a cat_…

~*~*~

After a long while, Neji finally came out of hiding and sat next to Tenten on the couch. Lee had disappeared somewhere and no one bothered to ask him where he was going or what he was doing. Neji was just thankful that he was gone.

"Why so glum?" Tenten asked him. "You haven't said a word since you yelled at Naruto before he left."

He didn't answer.

"You also seem tense."

He remained stiff and tense on the couch, avoiding her eyes. He was trying so hard to keep himself from turning red.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She sat back on the couch. "Fine. Suit yourself."

"By the way," Neji asked. "How did you know that that counting thing would work? You know, you used that to calm me down?"

"Oh, that!" She shook her head. "It's just a little trick I picked up. It helps you get your mind to focus and helps you calm down. Starting at a random number than a whole number makes you think and you have to concentrate more."

"I see."

She gave a short chuckle.

"What?"

"I got you to talk."

He looked away. But that only made her laugh again.

"Come on, Neji. You never share your feelings with anyone. But we've been teammates long enough for me to know when you're upset about something. Even Naruto knows that something's wrong with you. But no one can help you unless you tell us what's going on."

He made fists in his lap and bit his lip.

"Please tell me? Maybe I can-"

"I hate being a cat!" he cut her off. "It's no secret that I hate this. I say it all the time. Not as much as Sasuke does, but I say it often enough that people should know it by now."

"But why?"

He let the dam break and poured out his feelings. "Why do you think? I'm acting like a simple-minded idiot! I'm fascinated by shiny or moving objects, I'm terrified of dogs, and all I do is sleep and eat. Plus, I can't control myself. I have no will power whatsoever when it comes to my cat instincts. I lick myself in order to get clean, which, I'll have you know, is not something I'm proud of. Let's face facts…" He let out a long breath. "I can't call myself a ninja anymore. I can barely even call myself a man."

Tenten patted his back in a comforting gesture. "Oh, come on, Neji… That's not true. Don't be so dramatic."

"But it's all true. How can I call myself a ninja when I'm so lazy, easily scared and easily distracted?"

She couldn't answer him. Nor did he give her the time to do so.

"And I can't call myself a man when I can't even control my actions anymore. I give in. I give in way too much." He hung his head and let out a deep sigh. "That's way I'm so upset. That simple. I can't change this. It's not wearing off, we're getting worse and we can't find the woman who sold the potion to Sasuke. We're going to be stuck this way forever."

"Ah, I see." Tenten nodded and crossed her legs. "That's why you're so depressed… But it's not as bad as you're making it out to be."

"I'm also upset because some people won't lay off and try to make us give in to our cat impulses."

She knew what he was talking about and chuckled nervously. "But I think it's cute when you act that way."

"Well, I don't!" Neji folded his arms with a huff of frustration.

Tenten watched him, feeling sorry for her teammate. She had to admit that everything on that long list of his would upset any proud 'man'. She really wanted to help him. But what could she do?

An idea popped into her head.

"Hey, Neji."

"What?" he grunted.

"Close your eyes for a second."

He turned giving her a wary look. "What for?"

"I have something that might cheer you up."

"Unless you have a cure for my condition, I seriously doubt it."

"Just do it."

He turned to face her on the couch and closed his eyes as instructed. He could hear her rustling things around and was tempted to peek. What could she be doing? He felt her move closer to him on the couch and sensed her holding something to his face. He inhaled the odd aroma. It smelled funny, but also familiar. Suspecting the worst, he opened his eyes and looked down. She was holding the toy mouse under his nose.

"NO!" he shrieked and jumped back. "Get that thing away from me!"

"What's wrong?"

"What do you think?!" He grabbed a pillow and threw it in front of his face, separation him from the small toy. "That thing has catnip in it! You know how I get!"

"Duh. That's why I'm doing this." She moved the mouse closer, making the bell on its tail jingle. "It makes everything better. Cats love this stuff 'cause it's like a drug. It makes you feel better. A total stress relief."  
He shut his eyes and hid behind the pillow.

"Come on, Neji. You'll feel better."

"No!" He buried his face. "I don't want to."

"You already had a little sniff. Just take one more. It won't hurt."

"No, but it will finish the job. I won't do it!"

She sighed and moved away. "Ok, fine. You win."

Thinking it was safe, Neji lowered the pillow. Big mistake. The moment it was down, Tenten took her chance and shoved the mouse in his face. He flailed about and tried to knock it out of her hands, but she held him still while tickling behind his ear to calm him down.

"Good kitty… Good kitty…"

She didn't stop until she heard him giggle. She let him up and saw him lift his pink face to her. Grinning like a fool, Neji threw his arms around her. "I love you, Tenny-Ten-Ten!"

She rubbed his back and let him hug her. "See? I told you it would make you feel better."

Neji rubbed his face on her chest and purred. "I love you..!"

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18:**

"Please don't tell me I acted like that," Sasuke moaned, walking in on Neji cuddling with Tenten on the couch. He was purring and rubbing his body against hers. "That's so wrong and twisted and embarrassing."

Tenten stroked Neji's back. "He's much calmer than he was before. You should have seen him then."

"Oh, God..!"

Neji kept his eyes closed, purring in her lap. He loved being pet. It felt so good.

Sensing that something was amiss, Sasuke turned and looked up. Naruto was staring at him with a wide smile. "What?"

"Nothing…" he smirked.

"What?!"

"Nothing…"

"Shut up!" He was like a teasing older brother trying to get a rise out of him.

"Oh, wow!" Tenten put a hand to her mouth. "How'd you get that on your face?"

Sasuke poked his swollen jaw. "Oh. Sakura punched me."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. There was nothing believable about the phrase 'Sakura punched Sasuke in the face'. It couldn't be true. Why would she punch the one person she loved like nothing else?

"She thought I was Naruto," he explained.

"Oh. Now I understand." She went back to petting Neji. "Is that why Naruto's giving you that look?"

"Who knows?" Sasuke looked back at him. He was still grinning at him. "What the hell do you want?!"

"Nothing!" he giggled.

"You just want to tease me, don't you?"

"Maybe…"

Sasuke turned away before he could get the chance to strangle him. The moment his back was turned, Naruto jumped on him, hugging him from behind. "What the HELL are you DOING?!"

Naruto laughed in his ear. "I'm hugging you, stupid."

"WHY?!"

"Because I know it annoys you." It wasn't really a hug, more of a very tight squeeze. He had Sasuke in a vice grip. It wasn't very pleasant at all.

"Get off!"

"No!" Naruto held him tighter. "I want to hear you beg."

"What's gotten into you?!"

This was fun. He loved teasing Sasuke. And if he played his cards right, he might even get to hear him beg. He just wanted to have fun. He had already witnessed him get clocked by Sakura. Doing this was his way of rubbing salt in the wound.

"Get off!"

"Make me!"

"Get OFF! NOW!"

"No way!"

"I mean it!"

"Beg me to…" Naruto wrinkled his nose in disgust and jumped off his back. "Oh, my God! You stink!"

Sasuke's face turned red. "I do not!"

"Yes, you do!"Naruto pinched his nose cutting off the stench. "Did something crawl on you and die? When was the last time you had a bath?!"

Sasuke didn't answer. He just lowered his head trying to hide his red face. It was so embarrassing for him to call attention to it. Who wouldn't if you were told that you smelled in such a loud voice?

"Well? I asked you something."

Sasuke muttered his answer.

"What was that?"

Giving Naruto possibly the worst glare he could muster, Sasuke said a little louder, "Not since I've been turned into a cat."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "WHAT?! You haven't taken a bath since you drank the potion?!"

Face burning red Sasuke snapped back, "Well, not exactly! I showered fine that night, but the next day I just couldn't do it… What do you expect?! I'm a cat now! I hate water! I couldn't stand it! So I…" He mumbled the next words to the ground. "So I've… been licking myself clean… But only where I can reach!"

"That's disgusting!" Naruto gagged.

"Shut up!"

Neji sat up rubbing his face on Tenten's shoulder. His face was still slightly pink from the catnip's effect. This coupled with the fact that he was still highly affectionate indicated that he hadn't come out of it yet. But Tenten didn't care. As long as he was being cute and happy, she couldn't care less when he snapped out of it. He curled up on her lap once again and closed his eyes with a purr. He was ready for a nap.

"Hey, guys," she called to the others. "Could you keep it down? Neji's trying to sleep."

"Again?"

"Again."

Sasuke took this chance to sneak away from the group and onto the porch out back. He turned his head up to the sky, warming his face. He had had enough of Naruto's teasing and criticisms. It was embarrassing to call attention to someone's smell, and Naruto knew that. Nevertheless, he had shouted it out loud in front of Tenten and Neji. He was embarrassed about it himself and really wanted to take a shower, but every time he got near the water, he would chicken out. Every time he saw water, he turned tail and ran. He just couldn't face it. To cover up the smell of his lack of bathing, Sasuke had tried covering himself in deodorant, body spray and even Naruto's cheap cologne which he had been saving for a date with Sakura. Seeing as how that wasn't happening any time soon, Sasuke decided to take it for himself. It did the trick for a little while at least. But all the cologne in the world couldn't hide his greasy hair. He needed a bath, no doubt about it.

"This cat thing is getting out of hand," he muttered to himself. "I can't even take a shower anymore. How can anyone be afraid of water? It's so pathetic!"

He sat on the ground with a sigh. Maybe he'd feel better after a little rest. He turned his attention to the street below and watched traffic.

~*~*~

"So you're clear on the plan, right?"

"I believe so…" Lee looked down at the rope in his hand, having just returned from his 20 mile jog. "But do we really have to capture him? It just seems so… unnecessary and underhanded."

"Hey, he won't take a bath on his own so it's up to us." Naruto finished setting up the trap in his tiny living room. "He stinks! I won't have it! If he's staying with me or even hanging around me, he has to bathe. Just because he eats fish all the time, doesn't mean that he has to smell like one."

"Ok, if you are certain," Lee gave him a nod. "For Sasuke, I will do it! I will help out my rival in his time of need!" Tears started to flow from his eyes.

"I thought Neji was your rival," Naruto wondered.

"Oh, he is. Sasuke is my second. I want to fight him, too. But he is a mere warm-up compared to Neji. He is my true rival. Sasuke takes second place to him."

"And me?" Naruto couldn't help feeling a little left out. He wanted to be someone's rival, too. He wanted to be that person other one envied and sought to one day defeat; someone's inspiration and reason to continue and get better. That was a wonderful feeling.

"You are my good friend, Naruto. No doubt about that at all."

His heart sank. "So… I don't even take third place..?"

Lee thought about it. "Hmm… I suppose you could." He snapped his fingers. "Since we are both competing for Sakura's affection, that makes us love rivals!"

"I'll take it!"

"Very well! We are rivals of love!"

"Ok, when you say it like that, it gets a little creepy."

They heard the door open and quickly hid around the corner. Sasuke came in stretching his arms over his head. By the looks of it, he was ready for another catnap. Sasuke ruffled his hair and crossed to the other side of the room.

Halfway to the other room, Sasuke looked down and spotted a rope stretching from one side of the room to the other. It was pulled tight, hovering six inches off the ground. Set just a few inches behind the rope, poorly hidden under a thin pile of leaves was a net.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. It was such a pitiful attempt to capture him. _Surely Naruto can do better than this. I mean, really… Leaves? Unless a window was left open in the middle of the forest on a windy day, I highly doubt that there would be this many leaves indoors. Besides, why would they all be clustered in the middle of the floor like this? That guy's a real idiot_. "Nice try, loser. Just how dumb do you think I am?" Sasuke stepped over the rope, avoiding the trap.

Or so he thought. Once past the rope, the leaves concealing the net leapt into the air and transformed into ten Naruto clones. With no time to react, Sasuke was tackled to the ground by the clones of the very person he was just calling an idiot. They wrapped him up in the net and sat on him while Sasuke thrashed about and shouted for them to get off.

The real Naruto and Lee came out of hiding and grabbed the net. Together, they dragged Sasuke into the bathroom and locked the door. The tiny bathroom was far too small to accommodate all 13 of them, so some clones had to go. Naruto and four of his clones along with Lee held Sasuke down and striped off his clothes. Then they carried him over to the tub. Sasuke kicked and screamed, more concerned about the water than how wrong the situation must have looked. They tossed him in, sending a tidal wave of soapy bath water over the edge, soaking them clothes and all.

Naruto grabbed a washcloth and handed Lee a bar of soap. "Get him!"

"Right!"

When Sasuke resurfaced, all he could do was scream and try to jump out of the tub. Naruto and Lee held him back and started to scrub him clean. He clawed at them and yowled like a drenched cat.

"Let me out! Let me out! It's wet!"

"That's the point, now hold still!" Naruto lathered Sasuke's hair with shampoo and dug his fingers into his scalp, not caring whether he hurt him or not. "We have to get you clean! You stink!"

"I'm fine! I'm fine, really! Let me go! Please!" He was shrieking and flailing about. He made it sound like he was being murdered or something. They weren't killing him, just washing him. He made it out to be much worse than it really was. Naruto wondered if all cats reacted this way to water.

When it was finally over, Lee unlocked the door and narrowly avoided being trampled by a very distraught Sasuke. He bolted out the door and ran around the apartment like a chicken with its head cut off. He rubbed his body against the floor and shook his head causing his wet hair to slap against his face and neck. Then he ran out onto the deck outside and started to furiously lick his arms 'clean'.

Naruto came out panting and soaking wet. "You'd think we were killing him or something. What a baby."

Lee looked into the next room. "Do you think that we should wash Neji as well?"

Naruto looked up from wringing out his jacket. "He probably needs it."

~*~*~

Neji had just woken up from his little catnap on Tenten, feeling a little disoriented. He had slept off the catnip, but was still very groggy. He rolled off the couch and went to get a drink. He was so out of it, he didn't notice the net beneath his feet. He rubbed his eyes and gave his head a little shake, trying to clear his foggy head and wake up more fully. When he opened his eyes again, he spotted a cat toy dangling from in front of his face. Curious, he gave it a swat. It swayed back and forth. He playfully batted at it with his hand, unaware of the two sneaking up behind him. Before he could sense them, they grabbed the net and swept Neji off his feet. They carried their victim to the bathroom and locked the door.

All Tenten could hear was him screaming, water splashing and Naruto cursing. She wanted to stick around to see if they needed her help, or if Neji needed saving; but she decided to take her leave instead. She got up from the couch and went to the front door.

_I'll be back, of course. I just want to pick them up something nice_. She smirked to herself and left.

~*~*~

_Disgusting! I hate water! It's so wet and unpleasant!_ Neji fumed while licking the back of his hand. He was still drying off and was trying to groom his hair back into place. He was still ranting about how Naruto and Lee attacked him like that. He didn't smell that bad. He never let people get close enough to smell him anyway. He didn't need a bath. He needed a cure!

Seeing as how Tenten had already left while he was being tortured in the tub and not wanting to hear from either Naruto or Lee, Neji decided to go for a little walk by himself. It was nice to get out of the house once in a while, but he was careful not to go anywhere there might be dogs hanging around. He also had to steer clear of his own clan for obvious reasons. He didn't want to act like a fool in their presence. He wasn't of the main branch so there wasn't much of a chance of him being forgiven for acting in such a way. If any of them saw him acting like a cat, they'd be asking a lot of questions that he didn't want to answer. Even if he did answer them truthfully, he'd risk being criticized for being careless and stupid enough to get stuck in such a humiliating situation. And if they didn't view his actions as being that of a cat, he would be accused of being a lunatic. It wasn't easy being a Hyuga. It was always about image and honor. Neji had no room for mistakes.

It wasn't all bad, though. Some good came out of him being a cat. True, he was a lot lazier than he ever was, but he felt less stressed out. It was like being on a nice relaxing vacation. He had caught up on a lot of sleep he had been needing and for the first time ever, he could eat as much as he wanted and accept the food coma that came after with no worry about being scolded for it. He always ate just until he was satisfied, never full. Having a full stomach would weigh him down and he'd be too slow to react if he was ever attacked. Now he could stuff his face full and not care about that. He felt much calmer as a cat, despite having to worry about people finding out about his situation and the belief that it made him less of a man. All that aside, it wasn't so bad. The best part may have been the catnip that took him on one heck of a trip. It had never affected him before, but now that he was part cat it did. It made him feel wonderful. It was embarrassing when he came out of it, but while he was under its influence, he felt great. It was such a stress relief, getting him all drugged up. It was so nice to let go of everything that held you down and get filled up with everything that had you so happy that you felt like flying.

Maybe this whole cat thing wasn't so bad after all.

At that moment, Neji was pulled from his thoughts by the person standing behind him. He stopped in his tracks, hearing someone whisper to him. He looked around at the single word they uttered.

"Catfist."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19:**

Neji turned around. "What did you say?"

"Catfist," Shino repeated. "That's the technique you're using, correct?"

"Uh…" Neji was speechless.

Shino took him by the arm behind a building where they could talk in private. "I researched it. That potion you drank was to teach you catfist. I looked it up again just to be sure."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Then I'll go slow." Shino gave a short look around to see if anyone was watching. Then he looked back at Neji. "The way you've been acting, the cravings for fish, sudden fear of dogs, a fascination with shiny objects… All of it points to one thing. You've learned catfist."

Neji rubbed his temples. "Ok… What the hell is that? I've never heard of that before."

"Really? Well, I'm not all that surprised, to be honest. It's a very rare technique; no one uses it anymore. But judging from your behavior, I'd say that you've tampered with it. But you don't seem like the type to atempt to learn a technique artificially… Where did you get it?"

"Huh? Oh… Sasuke…"

"I see. Yes, he would be the type, wouldn't he? Let me guess. He discovered the potion and needed a guinea pig to help him test it due to the fact that he's obsessed with obtaining power by any means and needed to make sure that it was safe enough for him and to keep you quiet. But soon after that, the both of you discovered the truth, were embarrassed about it and decided to keep it secret. But then Naruto found out and now takes care of you when your actions get out of hand. And the reason why no one has seen you guys very often recently is because you've been hiding out at Naruto's because that is the last place anyone would look for you. Am I correct or is this theory just scratching the surface?"

Shino hit it right on the nose. It was amazing how he found out all that with so little information. Rather than speak, Neji nodded, telling him that he had it right.

He sighed. "Ok, I'll start from the beginning. According to a book I read a while back, there was a technique that some martial artists were trying to perfect. It all started when they were studying cats. At first it was just a passing-glance kind of observation, but then it evolved into an in depth research. They studied how cats moved, how they reacted to certain things such as a situation or a specific object. But mostly, they observed their fighting style. It was… interesting, for lack of a better word. They loved the agility, the poise and the power they showed. So much so that they decided to base a fighting style off of it called the catfist. It comes from watching how cats fight. It looked like a promising technique, so they started to develop it."

Neji listened very carefully. At first, it sounded ridiculous, but after a while, he realized that those researchers may have been onto something.

"Unfortunately, they didn't get the same power and precision that the cats displayed. They had a natural talent for it, but humans were merely mimicking their moves. It wasn't the same. So they started to study from the cat's point of view. In other words, think like a cat. So the humans trying to master the technique put themselves in the cat's perspective. They acted like cats, ate like cats, thought like cats. But it still wasn't enough. There was still that human factor that they had as a constant obstacle. They couldn't fully become cats because of their human nature."

"Just a second," Neji interrupted. "What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm getting there right now. Anyway, they finally came up with a solution. They created a potion that would force the drinker to think like a cat. Not only that, but also have the mindset, instinct and desires of a cat. Only then could they truly master the technique. After all, only a true cat would know when to strike and how hard and fast to do so. And it worked. They had finally come up with catfist. The fighters could perform it perfectly… for a time, at least."

"Hm?"

"Turns out that there were some complications with the potion. It worked, but just a little too well. You see, the fighters could perform the technique and respond to the changes well enough, but the issue was the fact that they couldn't come out of it. They were permanently transformed into cats. They couldn't turn it off like they had initially planned. They were stuck in the state you're in right now. They think, behave and react as any cat would."

"Wait a minute! Are you telling me that _this_ is a technique?!"

"Yes."

"How can that be? Since when is being lazy a technique?"

"Well, the actual technique activates on its own when you're either in danger or threatened in some way. During which time you may suffer a blackout of some sort. From what I understand, it's not painful at all. In that state you'll actually use the technique instinctively. Once the danger is gone, the technique shuts off and you return to your normal self."

It all made sense now. Everything was so clear. The potion did work after all. The technique they were supposed to learn was catfist!

"Now that I know that, could you please tell me how to cure this?"

Shino said nothing.

"You mean there isn't a cure?!"

"Now, I didn't say that. But the thing is that once the experiment backfired on them, the researchers packed up shop, as it were, and ran off. They disappeared without a trace. However, they did leave behind numerous bottles containing that potion. Some people who either have been involved in some way or just happened across it at the right time, have an instruction book telling you how to activate the potion and use it yourself. I take it that Sasuke happened across such a book, correct?"

Neji wasn't listening anymore. "So you mean to tell me that we're stuck like this for the rest of our lives?!"

"Perhaps… Although, it is possible that the potion will wear off in a few years or there may be a cure that hasn't been discovered yet. Hard to say."

"Where is this book that you found this information in?" He had every intention to research it himself and find a cure on his own. Maybe he'd find more about it along the way.

"It was a while ago. I just brushed up on it the other day when I found you chasing fireflies. I knew you were acting very cat-like so I decided to have a look. There wasn't very much information in the book that I read the other night. It was mostly pieced together from multiple sources. It's more of a sum-up than anything. It has no information other than the symptoms that you're displaying now. It won't help you much."

Neji bashed his head against the brick wall behind him. It was hopeless after all. On a list of things to go wrong today, so far he had: embarrassing himself in front of his team, forced into a bath he was less than happy about, got high off catnip and went out into public, and now found out that there was no cure for the potion to speak of. What else could go wrong today?

"Shino, is there anything else I should know about?"

He thought behind his high collar and dark glasses. "Even though I knew the truth early on and knew of your situation, I haven't told anyone. I knew you wouldn't approve. Hinata had asked me where you were and what you were doing since I had seen you last, but I told her that you were doing some secret training by yourself. But if she ever needed to talk to you, I suggested that she leave some milk out in a bowl for you."

"That's not funny," Neji glared.

"Oh. Are you aware that Kakashi is also aware of your condition?"

His eyes widened. "What?!"

"I'll take that as a 'no'. Yes, he's aware of your predicament but has decided to keep quiet about it and enjoy the show. He wants to see where it goes."

Neji snarled. "That jerk..!"

"Shino!"

"Arf! Arf!"

He turned and looked out into the street. Kiba and Akamaru were looking for him. At the sound of Akamaru's tiny barking, Neji took to hiding in the shadows. They were getting closer.

"Where'd he go? We've got stuff to do today. Leave it to that guy to just disappear, eh, Akamaru?"

"Arf!"

"Yeah… He probably found a moth or something. I bet you he's asking a butterfly to be his girlfriend right now."

Shino narrowed his eyes with a soft growl.

"Shino!"

"Arf! Arf!"

He turned back to Neji. "I'd better go. If I find anything new, I'll let you be the first to know."

"Fine, whatever, go!" Neji didn't want that dog to come any closer.

Shino stepped out from behind the building and over to his team. "Stop shouting, I hear you."

"Finally! Where the heck were you?"

"Arf!"

"Just doing a little research."

~*~*~

Neji staggered back to Naruto's apartment with his mind full of new information. Catfist? They knew catfist? Kakashi knew but saw it as entertainment and was going to continue watching from afar? There was no cure? It was a lot to take in at once. He had to get back and tell Sasuke. He had a right to know, too.

He opened the door and stepped inside. "I'm back."

Hearing giggles, he looked around. Naruto and Lee were sitting in the middle of the floor. Lee was trying to reason with Naruto, but he was too busy giggling to listen. He was holding a flashlight in his hand. He turned once he was aware of Neji's presence.

"Hey, check this out, Neji! It's so funny!"

Neji took a seat next to Naruto and watched. He shined the flashlight on the wall. Suddenly out of nowhere, Sasuke went soaring through the air and into the wall with a loud thud.

"What in the..?"

"I told you it was funny!"

"I don't get it."

"Then watch again!" Naruto shined the light on the floor this time. He moved the light around in small circles really fast. Sasuke appeared and chased after the light, trying to catch it in his hands. He looked confused every time he failed as if he really expected to catch it. The light appeared behind him and he turned. He tried to chase it but the light disappeared. He looked wildly around and found it dancing on the wall again. He followed it around with his eyes. Sasuke crouched low to the ground, preparing to spring. At just the right moment, he jumped and smashed face-first into the wall, sliding to the ground.

Now Neji understood. It was another cat game.

Naruto roared with laughter. "Isn't that awesome?! He's been doing it for the past ten minutes!"

"This game is mean, Naruto," Lee scolded him. "You should really stop now. I think he has had enough."

"Aw! But it's funny!"

"Please?"

"Oh, fine." Naruto clicked the flashlight off with a sigh. He was really having fun with that game.

Neji went to Sasuke's side and help him up. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke let out a loud moan. "I've got such a headache…"

"Are you well enough to listen to me and comprehend what I'm saying to you?"

"Probably. Why? What's going on?"

Neji sighed heavily, indicating that it wasn't good news. "Where do I begin..?"

~*~*~

"WHAT?! How could you tell them?! What's wrong with you?!"

"I didn't tell them! Shino told me that he knew because of a book he read. Kakashi knew from the start but he thinks of it as entertainment and that's why he hasn't said anything. So don't get mad at me! Get mad at your sensei!"

Sasuke snarled and his hair started to stand on end. "This is such a pain in the ass! That jerk sensei of mine… Is our condition just a big joke to him?! The next time I see him, I'm gonna..!"

Neji knew that Sasuke was going to react this way. He just knew it. He couldn't blame him, though. It was pretty cruel, what Kakashi was doing to them. Well, maybe cruel wasn't the right word. He was being more of a nuisance. No, that wasn't it either. Whatever you wanted to call it, it was pissing them off. They hated being teased. This was nothing to laugh at. Entertainment?! Kakashi was nothing more than a bigger more quiet version of Naruto in that sense. He just wanted a cheap laugh at their expense.

They both sat at the end of Naruto's bed discussing what they were going to do next. No ideas came to mind. After all, it wasn't like Shino to go around blabbing to everyone. And as long as Kakashi was being quiet about it, there was really nothing much to worry about.

In mid-conversation, Sasuke started to lick his arm, grooming himself. He licked the back of his hand and ran it through his hair. He licked his hand again and rubbed it against his cheek.

Watching him do that made Neji want to do it, too. His hand started to lift up to his face and his tongue started to creep out of his mouth. Just before it made contact, Neji snapped himself out of it and sat on his hands. "Sasuke!"

"Hm?" he asked, still grooming.

"We're doing it again! Look! You're grooming yourself!"

Sasuke looked down and immediately stopped. "God! Not again! I just can't help myself anymore! I feel like I have to do it!"

"I don't get why we're doing it. We just had a bath. Why would we be trying to… Sasuke, you're doing it again!"

Sasuke grabbed hold of his arm with the other and tried to force it back down away from his mouth. "I can't help it! I can't stop myself! I have to do it!"

Neji started to lick his arm, too, even after telling himself that he wouldn't. "Crap… I'm doing it, too…"

Sasuke lost the fight and went back to licking his arm. "Dammit."

Once finished with his arm, Neji laid down on the bed and started to lick his knee. He just couldn't help himself. It was an impulse he couldn't resist.

"Hey, Neji..?"

"I know, I'm licking my leg. Shut up about it."

"No, not that." Sasuke paused, rubbing the back of his hand on his face. "Did you notice something?"

"How pathetic we both are?"

"No." Sasuke laid down next to Neji on the bed and curled up. "I was wondering if you noticed how we feel after we lick."

"Stupid? Gross? Slimy? Wet? Ridiculous? Pathetic? Stop me when I get close."

"No." Sasuke rested his closed fist under his chin and gave it a lick. "Tired."

"Hm?"

"I feel tired after I've been licking myself. It wears me out."

"Really? I didn't notice."

Sasuke yawned and closed his eyes, still licking his hand. "Well, I did… I feel sleepy."

Neji scoffed. "Just a second ago, you were fuming mad. Now look at you, so calm and quiet."

Sasuke rolled into a ball. "Funny… I can't even remember why I was so mad before… It was something about… about… can't 'member…" Sasuke stopped licking his arm. "G'night." He fell asleep moments later, his hand still wet from licking it so much.

To tease him a little, Neji blew on his hand, cooling the saliva and making him shiver. He tucked his hand under his chest and turned his head the other way. Watching him sleep was making Neji a little sleepy himself. Stretching his body out until he was nice and limber, Neji curled up into a ball next to Sasuke and closed his eyes.

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: **

Tenten returned later that evening carrying a shopping bag in one hand, holding the door open with the other. "I'm back!" she called into the apartment. "Neji? Sasuke?... Anyone?"

She received no answer. Curious, she closed the door and made her way inside. She looked around but could find no one. Maybe they had gone out? She poked her head into the bedroom and found an adorable sight. Sasuke and Neji were fast asleep on Naruto's bed, huddled together for warmth.

"Aw, that's adorable!" she whispered to herself.

Neji scratched his head in his sleep and went back to cuddling Sasuke. Sasuke stretched and draped an arm over Neji's back with a soft purr.

_Oh, my God, if I had a camera..!_ Tenten could hardly contain herself. They were being too cute. But she had other things to do at the moment. So she left them and went into the kitchen. She emptied her shopping bag and took out a pot. "Ok, let's get started."

~*~*~

A tasty aroma filled the air. It wafted into the bedroom. Sasuke's nose twitched. It smelled wonderful. He started to drool in his sleep. His saliva dripped onto Neji's face causing him to jolt awake. He sat straight up and wiped the slobber off his face. He looked at the one responsible and slapped him upside the head.

Sasuke woke with a start and sat up holding the side of his head. "What the hell was that for?!"

"You spat on me!"

"I did not!"

"Then what do you call this?" He held up his hand, showing him the drool.

Sasuke turned up his nose defiantly. "Hmph! It might be yours, ever think of that?"

"Since when do people drool on their forehead?!" Neji paused and sniffed the air. "Hey, something smells good."

Sasuke licked his lips. "I wonder who's cooking."

Together, they crept out of the bedroom and down the narrow hall into the kitchen. They peered around the corner and saw a large pot in the middle of the table. The table was set for two and two tall glasses of milk had been poured and set next to the plates. Tenten turned and started to pile the plates up with food, cutting, trimming and dashing here and there. The smell was mouth-watering and they were so hungry. They had slept through lunch and were starving because of it.

She looked up. "Hi, guys."

They hid, not wanting to be discovered.

"Don't be shy. Come in! It's all ready."

She sounded like a mother. Curiosity and hunger got the best of them and they each took a seat at the table. Tenten handed them each a plate filled with food. They looked down at the plate of chicken, rice and vegetables.

"What is it?"

"Tenten Surprise!" she declared proudly.

Neji raised a brow at her. "I didn't take you as the type of person to name a dish after yourself in such a way."

"There's a story behind that. You see, all the women in my family make this dish and each time it turns out a little different depending on the one who makes it. So we decided to name it after whoever prepared it. In this case, it's Tenten Surprise because I made it."

"I just hope you're a better cook than Naruto." Sasuke picked up his chopsticks.

Neji sniffed the food set before him. "What's in it?"

"Chicken and rice and veggies."

"I can see that, but…" Neji frowned at the plate, unsure.

"Don't worry. I know how you have a low tolerance for spicy things. There's nothing spicy in it. I've made it for my family. I've never made it for anyone else, though. I hope you like it."

Neji picked up his chopsticks. It looked good, it smelled good. He just hoped that it tasted as good as it looked and smelled.

Having her eyes upon them, Neji and Sasuke both took a piece of food in their chopsticks and took a bite. Tenten watched them with mild excitement. She had always wanted to cook for her team before, just to see what they thought. Her family told her that she was a pretty good cook, but they were family. She wanted the opinion of someone outside her family who would be completely honest with her. Neji would tell her the truth.

She waited, anticipating their input. "Well? What do you think?"

They hung their heads so that she couldn't see their faces. The smile started to leave her face when she noticed them shivering. Were they shuddering in disgust? Was it really that horrible?

"Guys?"

They said nothing and continued to hide their faces, hanging them low over their plates.

"It's horrible, isn't it? I tried my best." This was so disappointing for her. "You hate it, don't you? I'm sorry. I tried, but… I guess you guys only like fish…"

Suddenly, Sasuke threw his chopsticks to the floor and started to devour his meal with his hands.

"Huh?" Tenten blinked, watching him with surprise. He was chewing noisily, gulping it all down as fast as he could. "So… So, then you..?"

Neji took his chopsticks and began shoveling the food into his waiting mouth.

The smile she had lost found its way back to her face. "So then you like it? Is it good?"

Neji nodded while shoving as much of it as he could into his mouth. "It's really, really good! It's delicious!"

Her smile spread. "Then you like it, too, right?" She looked over at Sasuke.

"Can't talk. Eating." Sasuke finished off the food and licked his plate clean. He took his plate in both hands and thrust it at her chest. "More."

She took his plate and piled it up with more food. "I take it that you like it, huh?"

He took the plate back and wolfed it all down. "I'm starving. I'd eat anything at this point."

She put her hands on her hips. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I like it fine." Sasuke grabbed his glass and drained it. "I'll need more." He handed her the cup.

She took it from him and filled it with more milk. "I guess I'm never going to get an 'it was delicious, Tenten, good job' from you, am I?"

"My way of saying that is eating it as quickly as I am." He lapped up the last bit of rice. "Happy now?"

Before she could answer, Neji had shoved his plate over to her as well. "More please," he said through a mouthful of food. He was still chewing. She took it and gave him seconds.

Within the hour, the two of them had both devoured a total of four helpings of her cooking. There was hardly any left for the others. It was a shame that they wouldn't get a taste, but knowing Naruto, he'd be just as happy with a bowl of ramen. Tenten had just finished cleaning all the pans and utensils she had used while cooking and now all she needed was the pot and their plates then her work would be done. When she returned to the table to see if they were finished, she found both Sasuke and Neji nodding off over their empty plates. Neji's head was bobbing up and down and Sasuke had collapsed on top of the table, head resting on his forearm.

She came over and gave Neji a little shake. "You ok?"

He looked at her drowsily. "I'm so full."

"You guys really stuffed yourselves didn't you?"

"Yeah… Ate too much…"

"At least you aren't sick. The food coma's just setting in." She helped Neji to his feet. "Come on, let's get you guys back to bed."

Too tired to complain, Neji allowed himself to be pulled up out of his seat and pushed towards the bedroom. Tenten went back to shake Sasuke awake, but he wouldn't budge. She literally had to carry him to the next room. She wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled him over to the bed, letting his feet drag on the floor.

Neji followed after them, trying to keep his eyes open for just a little bit longer. "He's out cold, isn't he?" he mumbled, seeing how Sasuke hadn't so much as stirred this entire time.

"Like I said, food coma's setting in." Tenten tossed Sasuke onto the bed where he nearly bounced right off. He hadn't woken up once! "Your turn." She pointed to the bed, indicating Neji to join Sasuke.

He didn't put up a struggle. He crawled right into bed and laid down next to Sasuke. Before he could even tell her thanks or wish her good-night, he was out like a light. Tenten pulled the covers over them and left the room.

~*~*~

It was another two hours before Naruto and Lee returned. They had been out training together on the training grounds. Tenten didn't complain. She had actually had a nice time taking care of the two 'cats'. Before she left for home, she informed Naruto of what had happened.

"Oh, cool! So you fed them and washed dishes. Thanks!" This was turning out to be a really good day after all. "So where are they now?"

"On your bed sleeping it off."

Naruto frowned. "Get them off of there! I don't want them on my bed! Where am I going to sleep?"

"You have a futon, don't you? Use that."

"But they use it!" he whined.

"Don't whine so loud, you'll wake them up."

"Good! Then they can get off my bed!"

Tenten put a figure to her lips and shushed him. "Shh! Be quiet!"

There came a clatter from the bedroom followed by Sasuke screaming his head off. "Dog! DOG!"

"What in the..?"

Sasuke came running out of the bedroom on all fours and jumped on Naruto's head. There was another crash as Neji came running out of the room as fast as he could on all fours as well. He was too busy looking over his shoulder to watch where he was going and ran straight into Lee. He bounced back and clung to Lee's leg like a small child.

"What's going on?"

"Dog!"

"Dog? Where?"

Sasuke pointed to the bedroom. Tenten went to investigate, but all she found was an empty room. "There's nothing in here."

"Impossible! I saw it! I saw the damn thing!"

"What about you, Neji?" Lee asked.

"Well, I didn't see it, but Sasuke's screaming woke me up and I ran out here."

Tenten scratched her head. "So where exactly did you see this dog? What did it look like?"

"It was huge!" Sasuke threw his arms up in the air, describing the beast. "It was big and scary-looking! It had these teeth that were like…" He depicted the large fangs by sticking his fingers out of his mouth. "They were like this big. It was huge! It was like this big." He measured it by sticking his arm straight up over his head and standing on his tiptoes. "And it had these hugs paws with sharp claws. It was barking and growling so loud it shook the ground and then it chased me and…"

Sasuke stopped, realizing that he was actually describing a dream he had been having.

"So let me get this straight…" Naruto narrowed his eyes at him. "You started screaming and running around like a maniac all because you were having a bad dream?"

Sasuke's face burned red and he hung his head downward, embarrassed.

"You're such a baby!"

"Shut up! It really freaked me out and it was so real!"

Naruto didn't know whether to laugh or yell at him for being so loud and nearly wrecking his house. Either way, Sasuke was still shaking, both from embarrassment and shock. There was no way he was going to calm down enough to go back to sleep.

"Just take some deep breaths, ok?" Tenten patted his back.

Sasuke pushed her hand away. "Leave me alone! There's no way I'll ever get back to sleep now. I'm too worked up."

"Then breathe into this." Naruto handed him a paper bag. "It works for the hiccups, too."

"Do I look like I have the hiccups?!"

"If you do not calm down, you will," Lee told him.

Sasuke snatched the bag from his hand. "Gimme that." He wrapped the opening around his mouth and started to take slow deep breaths, making the bag expand and deflate rhythmically.

"There, he'll be calm in no time."

Tenten gathered her things. "Good. So I guess you guys won't need me anymore tonight, huh?"

"Nah." Naruto jerked a thumb over at Sasuke. "We've got him covered. Breathing into that paper bag will calm him down, no problem."

"That's go…" Tenten looked over at the bag. "AHH! NO! Get it away from him!"

Naruto and the other two flinched. "What? Why? What are you getting so upset about? What's wrong?"

"That's the bag I put the catnip in!"

"NO!"

Neji covered his nose and ran into the next room, trying to save himself from its effects. Meanwhile, Naruto and Lee pulled the bag out of Sasuke's hands and threw it behind the couch.

"Hey, maybe it won't have any effect on him," Naruto said hopefully. "I mean, it was just over his mouth, not his nose. He just needs to smell it, right? Not breathe it in… It doesn't work if you just inhale it, right? Please tell me I'm right."

It was wishful thinking. Sasuke wasn't hyper, but he was in a woozy haze. He didn't get the full effect, but it was already messing with his head.

"Sasuke?" Lee asked. "Are you ok? How do you feel?"

"Weird," he slurred. "I feel really weird. Kinda funny, but not ha-ha funny. I'm a little dizzy, too."

"Just take it easy. We will help you over to the couch so that you can lay down."

Sasuke fell onto his back and didn't move. "Nah, I don't really feel like it. I don't wanna move."

"Naruto, grab his arm."

"Uh, ok."

They started to drag him across the floor, but Sasuke made himself heavy and started to whine like a bratty child.

"No! No..! I don't wanna! I like it on the floor! Put me down!"

"Stop kicking! We're trying to help you!"

"No..!"

"Stop whining!"

"No..! _No_..! Nooooo..!"

"Sasuke!"

"Pfft!" Sasuke stuck out his tongue.

"Ragh! You're such a little brat!"

"You're mean!"

Tenten sighed and put her stuff back down. "It looks like you guys need me after all. I guess I'll just come home late, that's all."

It took an hour to calm him down. Neji didn't come out of hiding during that entire time. But once Sasuke was calm enough to call Tenten an idiot for putting the catnip in a bag in the first place, Neji came out to defend her. After all, there was no way she could know that Naruto was going to do that. The bag was the safest place for it at the time.

At last, everything was calm. Sasuke laid on his side on the couch, catnip free and not talking to anyone. But, as usual, Naruto had to make things so much worse. He poked Sasuke's stomach and said two words that were guaranteed to get a rise out of him.

"You're fat."

Giving him a death glare, Sasuke slapped his hand away. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"You're plumper than before. You've become so fat and lazy, you're putting on the pounds."

"I am not!" Sasuke rolled onto his other side, hiding his gut. He put a hand over his round belly and realized that he had put on a couple of pounds. "I just ate a big meal, Naruto. I haven't had a chance to work it off, yet."

"You won't anyway. You're too lazy."

"Come here and say that!"

Tenten shook her head. Sasuke needed to work on his temper and Naruto needed to learn when to keep his mouth shut. "Just how much longer is this going to go on?"

* * *

Poor guys... Little do they know that Kakashi's waiting for them in the next chapter.

Please review! ^-^


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21:**

Things were going pretty well for a while now that everything had calmed down. Now that both Tenten and Lee knew about Neji's condition, they both worked extra hard to keep it a secret from Gai as well as convince him to tone down the training. It wasn't easy because Gai's solution to everything was to train twice as hard to get over whatever it was. If someone had a broken leg, then run on your hands!

So far, Kakashi's team had also toned down the training a little bit. Right now they were all resting under the trees, taking a breather. Kakashi was occupying his time by reading his favorite book.

After hearing from Neji about how he had known about their condition for some time now and was keeping quiet about it for entertainment purposes, Sasuke hadn't taken his eyes off his sensei all that morning. Just thinking about how his predicament was nothing more than entertainment in Kakashi's eyes made his blood boil. Rather than help them or say something, he'd rather hang back and watch? How cruel! Even when there were dogs around and a hard mission or two, Kakashi would send him off with the others as if it were another day!

_Kakashi, you stupid jerk! You could at least try to help us out once in a while! My condition is nothing to laugh at, damn it! _Sasuke cursed his sensei over and over again in his head. How dare he treat them like this! Entertainment?! Outrageous!

The masked ninja turned a page in his book making Sasuke flinch. He was such a wreck thinking that Kakashi was going to try something any minute that every time he moved, Sasuke would twitch in some way in anticipation. He was wrong every time. But just in case, he kept his eyes on him in an eternal glare. Any minute now, Kakashi was going to do something to torment him like roll a ball of yarn out from behind his book and laugh at him when he chased after it.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Sasuke flinched at the sound of the team's only female. The pink-haired girl dashed over to her sensei carrying a couple library books in her arms. She sat down next to him and flashed one of the books in his face.

"I checked out the books you recommended. They're really useful!"

"Glad you like them." Kakashi turned another page.

"Do you think you could teach me how to perform some of these?"

He bookmarked his page. "I'm no medical ninja. I only know a few things; just enough to get by on my own. I wouldn't be able to show you much."

"Then what about a mentor?"

"Well…" Kakashi scratched his neck. "The Hokage would be a good choice… She is the best after all. But I don't know if you're ready for that yet. You still have a lot to learn here on this team. Plus, her teaching methods are a bit… Outlandish, let's just say. You have a lot of book smarts, but that's all pointless when it comes to her. She'd tell you to do something different. I don't think you're prepared for that."

"But she could teach me, right? As her apprentice?"

Kakashi turned his hand over with a shrug. "Ehh…"

Sasuke tapped his foot on the ground, still expecting that yarn ball to be thrown at his head or something. He only looked away when he felt Naruto sit down next to him.

Naruto scooted a bit closer. "Hi."

"… Hi…"

Naruto moved closer to whisper something to him. "Psst. While she's talking to Kakashi, do you want to sneak away and take a nap or something? I know how you always get tired around this time."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, that's ok. I'm fine."

Naruto was taken aback by this. "What?! But you're always tired about now. What gives?"

Sasuke turned his head up to the sky watching the rustling leaves. "I know. I usually get real sleepy this time of day, but today's different. Maybe I'm getting better."

Naruto scratched his ear and he purred. "Yeah, you look so much better," he said sarcastically.

Sasuke pushed him away. "Shut up, loser."

Yup. Nothing had changed. Not one bit.

~*~*~

"Alright, team!"

Gai did a complete spin and struck a pose. "Let's seize the day with bountiful youthfulness and grasp the inner strength to guide us towards our ninja way!"

"Yay…" Neji groaned trying not to sound too depressed. That was the real trick.

"Alrighty, then! Let's go, team! Let's pick up the pace and warm up with a 100 mile dash!"

Lee and Tenten exchanged worried glances towards each other. They were both thinking the same thing. How was Neji going to handle this?

Thinking fast, Tenten had come up with a quick distraction. They needed to get Gai's attention away from training. There was no easy way to do it. But there was one way guaranteed to do the trick… in theory. Fight fire with fire, or in this case, training with training. There was one way to get Gai's attention and that was a challenge.

"Gai-sensei!" Tenten interrupted. "I had a question for you."

"What is it?" Gai stopped right in the middle of a kick, pausing with one leg still stretched out in the air above his head.

"Uh… Is it true that you and Kakashi are still rivals?"

"Of course!" Gai flashed a white smile at her coupled with a thumbs-up. "We are life-long rivals! I couldn't ask for a better one than him."

"Yeah, uh-huh." She wanted to speed this up. "But isn't it also true that you bested him one more time than he did you?"

"Yup! I have one more win than he does!"

"Well, I just heard that Kakashi wants to challenge you again and make it a tie… then take the spot as number one."

Gai froze in the middle of another pose. "Wait… Kakashi wishes to challenge me so that he can best me?"

She nodded, trying to make her story as believable as possible.

It took Gai a full minute to realize what this meant. His eyes widened with excitement and shock. "Then this means that he wishes to challenge me… twice!" Gai turned his back to his team and dashed over to a nearby rock. He climbed up on it, leading his team to believe that he was going to use it as a springboard or something. But instead, he bent his knees, holding the position as a battle cry rumbled deep in his throat making its way up to his mouth. He straightened his legs, threw up his arms, puffed out his chest and released his howl to the sky with fire in his eyes, stirring up multiple birds. "Challenge accepted, Kakashi! What a worthy adversary you are indeed! Not one, but TWO challenges in one day back to back in order to reclaim your place as top dog! This is my chance to take victory twice as quickly as usual and put myself two places in front of you so you'll have to battle me harder, faster and more often than you would before! What a beautiful thing! Your light of youth hasn't diminished at all, yet, has it, Kakashi?!"

Neji leaned over to Tenten in the middle of his ranting to whisper, "Uh… should we leave or..?"

"I'm not sure. He'll go on forever if we don't stop him soon."

Gai turned back to his team and, much to their surprise and displeasure, picked all three of them up in his arms and dashed towards where he believed Kakashi was. "Quickly, now! I don't want you to miss this!"

Neji glared at Tenten because his gaze couldn't reach Gai. "I thought you were helping…"

She shrugged. "I thought I was."

~*~*~

Sasuke was getting bored watching Kakashi listening to Sakura. They had been going on for some time now, talking about medical jutsus and potions. None of them would help him get any better or recover from the spell he was already under so he paid very little attention. As bored as he was, he still didn't feel like taking a nap. How could he, knowing that Kakashi would be standing over him, knowing, plotting…

A robin landed on a branch above Kakashi, catching Sasuke's attention for a moment. It looked especially plump. Sasuke licked his lips. He started to wonder if it would taste like chicken like the saying went. Little did he know, Kakashi was watching his every move out of the corner of his eye. The robin flew off soon after leaving Sasuke feeling a little sad but mostly annoyed that he had gotten so easily distracted once again.

"Ka… Ka… SHI!"

Sakura jumped aside as Gai came springing out of nowhere carrying his three genin in his arms and landing before Kakashi with a thunderous thud. Lee looked a little rattled, Tenten was still clinging to her sensei for dear life, and Neji just looked annoyed. With his arms still folded, he glanced up and gave Sasuke a nod in greeting. "Hey."

"Uh, hey." _Just another day for them, huh?_

Gai dropped his team and stuck his face in Kakashi's, eyes aglow with determination. "Challenge hereby accepted! I gladly accept!"

Kakashi gave him a long quizzical stare. "… Huh?"

"Don't act like you don't know!"

"Know what?"

Gai gave a hearty laugh. "There you go again, you big goof."

Kakashi raised a brow at him.

"I know how you want to best me, Kakashi! No need to hide it. Tenten told me all about it! She gave me your message."

"She did, did she?" He leaned to the side to take a peek around Gai at her. She gave a nervous chuckle and waved. In that one movement, he understood. "Aw, and I tried so hard to be subtle."

Gai was already stretching, getting warmed up. "What shall we do first? Challenger picks the challenge."

"I do, huh?" Kakashi stood up with a sigh. "Let me see…"

While they were distracted, Tenten pulled Sasuke and Neji away from the group. "Psst. I have something for you guys."

"What?" they whispered back.

"Come with me and you'll see." She dragged them off to another part of the training grounds. Naruto and Lee turned around, realized that they were gone and went off to find them.

~*~*~

Tenten dragged the two deep into the woods and put her hands on her hips. The two exchanged nervous glances. What was she up to?

"I had an idea."

"What?" they asked nervously.

She reached forward and poked their bellies. "Naruto was right, you guys are getting plumper."

"Stop that!" Neji slapped her hand away, hating being called fat.

"So I came up with an idea."

"Please don't say exercise." Sasuke moaned just thinking about it.

She nodded. "Think of it as training. The way I see it, we're going to be called off on missions anyway so it would be nice if you guys could master your instincts a little better and get back into shape."

They looked at each other again. She had a point, but that didn't mean that they were willing to do it.

"Trust me on this."

Lee and Naruto finally caught up to them and stood close by, listening.

"First off," Tenten pointed straight up. "Climb that tree."

Simultaneously, they raised a brow at the request.

"Go on. Start climbing."

"You've got to be…"

"Do it!"

"No!" Sasuke folded his arms, refusing to budge.

Naruto snuck up behind him and gave a sharp bark. Yelping, Sasuke scrambled up the tree without hesitation. Neji saw right through the trick and remained in his spot. However, a glare from Tenten sent him up the tree moments later. It looked like she would get her way after all.

After an hour, it became unclear whether it was training or just a game to her. She had them doing all kinds of things. She had them chasing after colorful rubber balls, climbing up trees and ordering them to tear up a tree only using their hands. That one they didn't mind so much since it gave them the opportunity to sharpen their nails.

Next she had them do a little hunting. She told them to find someone other than herself and capture them in their own cat way. That was where Neji drew the line. She wasn't helping them, she was making it worse! She wanted them to act more like cats when she already knew how hard they were trying not to. Sasuke was about to protest, but seeing as how Naruto was fair game in all of this, decided against it and started to stalk his prey.

Naruto wandered around for a little bit, unaware that he was being watched. Sasuke was shadowing him from behind, slowly letting his instincts take over. When Naruto turned around, Sasuke jumped into a tree and hid. When Naruto continued walking, Sasuke crept after him, moving from tree branch to tree branch. He crouched low, placing his chin on the branch he was perched on and waited for Naruto to get in position.

Naruto looked around, knowing that something was amiss but not sure what. He took a step to the right, lining himself up for the perfect tackle. Sasuke struck. He jumped from the branch and tackled Naruto to the ground. He had Naruto pinned, sitting on his chest with a smile. He had done well for himself.

Too bad Naruto didn't think so. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Sasuke flattened himself on Naruto's chest and purred. "I caught you. I win."

"Win what? I'm so confused."

Sasuke didn't know himself. All he knew was that he had done what he was supposed to and was happy about it.

"Get off!" Naruto pushed him off his body and sat up. "That's it! I've decided that I don't like Tenten's training. It's painful!"

Sasuke wasn't listening. He was sniffing the air. "Hey, do you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

Sasuke sniffed around for a little bit before running off.

Naruto ran after him. "Come back! Where are you going?"

~*~*~

Neji was getting pretty sick of this. There was no way he was going to stalk Lee the way she had wanted him too. This was embarrassing enough.

He heard clicking and assumed it was Tenten. "Forget it! I'm not taking part in this!"

The clicking continued.

"Shut up! I don't care!"

More clicking.

"That's it! I've had it!" He got up and turned around to face her. "If you think that I'm going to lower myself to-"

She wasn't there. Instead, Neji found himself yelling at a bowl of milk placed carefully under a tree behind him. Who could have left this? Milk didn't just pop out of the ground, after all. Someone must have planted it there for him. Was this some sort of trick?

Neji was wise to this trick. "Very funny, guys! Ha ha!"

But still… That milk did look delicious. Nice and creamy.

He looked over his shoulder. No one was watching. Licking his lips, Neji got down on his knees and started to lap up the milk. It was nice and cold. He purred.

"Neji!"

He hiccupped and sprayed the milk out over the tree roots and grass.

Tenten pulled him away from the bowl. "What are you doing? We still have a lot to do today!"

He cast a sad eye down to the bowl and back up to her. "Come on! I'm thirsty!"

"Later. We have stuff to do now."

That's when an idea popped into his head. How did cats get their way all the time? They were cute! Maybe if he acted cute, she would give in. After all he had been through, lowering himself just a few more notches couldn't do that much damage to his ego.

He got down on all fours and gave her the cutest upward pout he could come up with. He wasn't used to begging or acting cute on purpose, but for the sake of milk, he'd have to do his best. He made his eyes sparkle a little and gave a little whimper.

Tenten frowned. "Oh, don't do that."

He didn't stop. He stuck out his lip a little and kept up the sad eyes.

"Neji..!" she whined.

He hung his head down with a look that read 'love me, pity me, feed me' no matter how you looked at it. He looked pitiful but so cute.

Neji pawed at her leg with his knuckles.

"Neji…"

He rubbed his face against her legs and circled around her, purring and pawing at her feet.

"Please stop that…" She looked like she was trying real hard not to let it get to her. But he was being too cute. At last she gave in. "Oh, alright! Go ahead."

He gave her one last rub before going back to the milk. How humiliating, but it was worth it. The milk tasted so good.

~*~*~

"Sasuke! Get back here, you fat bastard!"

Naruto chased Sasuke deeper into the woods not knowing what had gotten into him. He said that he had smelled something…

"Sasuke, if you're getting into that catnip again, you can forget me helping you out! You're Lee's problem!"

He stepped out into a clearing and found Sasuke jumping up and down with his mouth wide open. He looked more like a frog than a cat at the moment while he was doing that. As he moved closer, Naruto realized what he was doing. Sasuke was jumping trying to catch a fish in his mouth. A row of fresh fish were dangling from a high branch above his head, their tails tied with rope. The rope looked suspiciously like the kind a ninja would use. If Naruto wasn't mistaken, it looked like the same kind that Kakashi used on missions.

Sasuke kept jumping. He was determined to get that fish.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know you could just climb up and get it that way or cut the rope with your kunai, right?"

Sasuke stopped jumping. Clearly he hadn't thought of that.

With a sigh, Naruto tossed a kunai through the air, cutting down one of the fish and into Sasuke's waiting mouth. He chewed noisily, ripping it apart with his teeth. It was kind of gross, but Sasuke didn't mind at all.

Naruto cut down another one and handed it to him. Sasuke snatched it away in a heartbeat. He opened his mouth to take a bite, but stopped. He looked from the fish in his hands to Naruto standing over him. He took the fish in both hands and ripped it in half. He handed the head to Naruto.

Naruto shied away. "What?"

"Have some." Sasuke was offering him something to eat. He was sharing!

"Uh, no thanks."

He shrugged and went back to eating.

Lurking behind the trees was a masked ninja, watching the whole thing. He kept his book tucked in his back pocket, having found something much more interesting for a change. _Perhaps I should have done this sooner… It's a little boring waiting around for something to happen. Sometimes you need a little push_.

* * *

Please review! ^-^

I'm going to end it soon so if anyone wants to see something tell me now!


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22:**

Sasuke finished off the last piece of fish and settled down in the grass to digest. The sun had nestled behind some grey clouds in the sky, shading the two genin in the clearing. It looked like it was going to rain at some point that day, but that was ages away in their minds. Right now, they each had their own thing to think about. Sasuke was thinking about how good the fish tasted and Naruto was thinking about Sasuke. He was curious about Sasuke's behavior and how much more it might deteriorate. There was no telling if Sasuke was going to improve or not and by the looks of things, it was clear that he was only becoming more and more cat-like. Tenten's training seemed to have sped up the process as well. Could that have been her plan all along?

That brought a question to his mind. "Hey, Sasuke…"

"Yeah?" Sasuke was licking the back of his fist, washing it.

"Why'd you try to share your fish head with me?"

He shrugged. "How should I know? I just felt like it. Why?"

"But a fish head? The head of all things?"

"Hey, don't cats bring dead things back to their owners as gifts or something?"

"That was a gift?!" Naruto snapped. "A fish head is your idea of a gift?!"

Sasuke turned away. "Shut up."

Naruto started pulling blades of grass out of the ground, bored. He wondered what Neji was up to now. Had he found Lee and tackled him the way Sasuke did him? It was anyone's guess.

Without noticing, Sasuke had scooted closer to Naruto until they were almost shoulder to shoulder. At last he turned and spotted him. It looked like Sasuke wanted to say something to him.

"What?"

He looked away. "I was just… I was wondering… Could you..?" He shook his head wildly. "No! It's a stupid idea. Never mind. I shouldn't even be thinking that."

"Thinking what?"

Sasuke's face was burning. He swallowed hard. Keeping his eyes fixed on the ground, he asked or rather muttered, "Would you pet me?"

Not sure if he had heard him right Naruto asked him to speak up. "What was that?"

"Are you deaf?! I said pet me!" Sasuke shouted before turning to hide his red face.

What a day this was turning out to be. Naruto fought back giggles. "You're actually asking me to pet you?"

"Shut up. It's another damn impulse." Sasuke kept his back turned. "Just shut up and get it over with."

"You make it sound like I'm the one who asked for this." Naruto shifted around until he was facing Sasuke's back and put his hands on his back and started to give him a nice massage. Sasuke purred and leaned back into his touch. Naruto placed a hand behind his ear and gave it a scratch. Sasuke purred even louder. "This actually isn't so bad."

"Hm?"

"I mean, if you're really going to be a cat for the rest of your life, I wouldn't mind. You're a lot calmer like this, more tolerate, friendly even…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's nothing." Naruto flattened his palms on Sasuke's back and just rubbed him along the spine up and down. After that, Sasuke became very quiet. "Still awake?"

"Yeah."

"How come you don't want a nap today? Sleep too much or something?"

"I don't know… I'm feeling pretty tired now, though. Maybe I just needed a full stomach or something." Sasuke fell backwards into Naruto's lap.

Naruto stopped petting him and gave him a poke in the forehead. "Uh… Sasuke?"

"What now?"

"Could you get off me?"

Sasuke took a lazy look around before sinking deeper into his lap. "I don't know. You're lap is pretty comfortable. Maybe I should just take a nap right here."

"But do you have any idea how this looks?"

Sasuke glanced up at him from his laying position. "No, how?"

Naruto was embarrassed to even say it. "Well, the way you're laying on me and all… it kinda makes us look like lovers."

At the mention of that, Sasuke wanted nothing more than to get up. But his feline laziness kicked in and he fell back down on top of Naruto's folded legs. "I don't care anymore."

"But you always care!"

"We're alone out here in the middle of the woods with no one else around surrounded by trees and rocks and grass. If I don't say anything about this, you won't either. Right?"

"Huh?"

"What I'm saying is that I'm not in the mood to get up. I'm comfortable right here and if no one's around to see us like this, then I couldn't care less. If no one knows, there's no problem."

"I guess, but…"

"Not another word, ok?" Sasuke closed his eyes. "I'm taking that nap now. Be quiet."

"KAKASHI!"

The two genin quickly sprang up and away from each other in the grass as Gai came tearing through the trees. He skidded to a halt and stood in front of a tree not too far from where the boys had been just a few moments ago.

"Alright, Kakashi," he said. "I did my part of the challenge. Now where's that fish you promised me?"

"_His_ fish?!" Sasuke's hair started to stand on end.

His sensei stepped out from behind the tree, cracking his neck with a bored expression. "Fancy meeting you two all the way out here." He was addressing Naruto and Sasuke.

"I get the feeling you followed us…" Naruto muttered.

Gai struck another pose. "Well, where's the fish?"

"What fish?" Naruto was a little confused.

Gai struck yet another pose. "Why, the fish for the challenge! Kakashi picked the challenge for today. He challenged me to a fishing contest. Whoever caught the most fish with the same net would win!" He turned back to his rival. "So come on, Kakashi. Show me the fish!"

"I would, Gai. You know I would, but the thing is…" He glanced over at Sasuke. "It seems that the fish I so carefully placed aside for the challenge were taken by a couple hungry cats."

"Cats?"

"I know. Strange seeing them all the way out here, huh?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck. "But you know cats. Very independent and always hungry for some easy fish." He was still glancing at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.

Sasuke's blood was boiling now. _I'll kill him!_

"But what about the challenge?" Gai whined. He sounded very disappointed.

"Ah," Kakashi waved him off. "Rain check. We'll have to do it another time. Besides, don't we have some training of our own?"

"Hm?"

Kakashi gestured to the two in the grass. "Our teams?"

Gai rubbed his chin. "Teams..?" He snapped his fingers. "Oh! Yes, that's right! Ahh! I almost forgot about them! Poor Lee's probably suffering without me right now! I have to get back!" Gai broke into a dead run in some random direction. "Rain check, Kakashi! Rain check!"

Kakashi called the two over. "Come on. We'd better head back. Anyone know where Sakura is by chance?"

Sasuke was hissing he was so mad.

"What? Did I do something to upset you?"

"Don't act all innocent!" he snapped.

Kakashi pointed to himself. "Me? What do you mean?"

"I know you know, so stop teasing me!" Sasuke snapped.

Kakashi gave him an innocent stare. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Like hell you don't!"

~*~*~

"I can't believe you did that," Tenten muttered to Neji.

He had just finished off the last drop of milk and was busy grooming himself at the moment. "Tell me about it. I just wanted the milk so bad."

"So you acted cute on purpose?"

He shrugged. "It worked, didn't it? Besides… it was kind of worth it."

"I can't believe you would stoop to that level! You of all people! I thought I knew you, but after seeing this…"

"Tenten, I'm sorry. I've done so many embarrassing things all week long, what's one more going to do?"

"And another thing!" She stood up. "I was right in the middle of training you guys!"

"You call that training? I call it exploiting! How does that help us at all?"

"The catfist thing," she told him. "I heard all about that, remember? Shino told you and you told Sasuke and then I heard about it from both of you. I was trying to help you guys control it better."

"How?"

"Look, we have missions coming up, no matter how cat-like you guys get. I thought it would be a good idea if you two figured out what triggers the catfist mode so that you could use it in battle rather than go running off like you did last time."

Neji flashed back to when he had gotten himself stuck in a tree. That was something he never wanted to have happen again. "So all this stuff was just to help us get more in touch with our cat selves so that we could get better control over the technique?"

"Yup."

"Then why didn't you just say that in the first place? I would have cooperated if that were the case!"

"Oh! Hello, _Gai-sensei_! How wonderful it is to see you _all _the way out here in the _woods coming close_ to that _tree_ over _there_, where I have no idea if anyone, like our _team_ for example, may be _lurking_ about!"

Subtlety wasn't Lee's strong suit, that was for sure. His blatant remarks and the way he had stressed on a few choice words here and there told the two that Gai was coming their way; just in case they were doing something that they didn't want him to see.

Gai stepped out carrying a net with Lee at his side. The net was filled with fish, some of which were still flopping around. "Sorry about that everyone. Kakashi decided to take a rain check for our little battle."

"What's with the fish?" Tenten asked.

"Oh." Gai held them up for all to see. "The challenge called for us to out-fish each other using this net. Now I don't know what to do with them all. Maybe this could be our lunch, how about that?"

Neji immediately got down on his hands and knees and started to rub his body against Gai's legs affectionately at the promise of fish. He liked the idea of fish for lunch.

Gai looked down and watched him with an uneasy look on his face. "Hey, uh, Neji… What are you doing?"

Tenten and Lee held their breath. They couldn't come up with a way to explain this or do anything to help so quickly. Neji was on his own.

He stopped in the middle of a rub and thought fast. He faked looking for a coin he had dropped and tucked the imaginary money back into his pocket. "Oh, there it is! Ha ha… Lost a coin… Found it." He got up and went to hide his red face behind his teammates. How embarrassing!

Shaking off the strange ordeal, Gai went back to giving his team directions. "Ok, a quick lunch break and then the real fun begins."

Tenten tugged on Lee's jumpsuit. "Psst! Hey, Lee, can you do me a favor?"

"Like what?"

She whispered in his ear. "I'm not sure how much of Gai's training Neji can take before he's run into the ground. I need your help to make sure that Gai doesn't overdo it, ok?"

"But Neji has always-"

"He's part cat now! I've seen him struggle on the really intense stuff. So please?"

Lee nodded. "Sure thing. I will do my best. No problem!"

~*~*~

As always, their training was intense, but Neji did his best anyway. But along their ten mile hike, he had finally had enough. Six miles was all that he could take at this point. He gave up and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. Tenten noticed this and motioned for Lee to distract Gai while she snuck him out of here.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee came running up to him before he had a chance to turn around and notice Neji. "I have been training really, really hard and I wish to show you how much I have learned!"

Gai's face lit up. "Is that so? Have you mastered any new techniques?"

Lee nodded, sealing his fate. Now he had to make something up on the spot.

Meanwhile Tenten grabbed Neji and pulled him back down the hill the way they had come. Halfway down, Neji had to stop again for another rest. Knowing that it would take forever at the rate they were going, Tenten took matters into her own hands. She squatted down in front of him and pulled him onto her back.

Once Neji found himself lying across her back, he realized that she was trying to give him a piggyback. There was no sense in complaining, but he had to anyway. "Tenten, what do you think you're doing? A girl giving a boy a piggyback… this is embarrassing!"

"And purring and rubbing your body against other people's legs isn't?"

"Point taken."

"This way is faster anyway. You're not that heavy. I can manage." She wrapped her arms under his legs and broke off at a surprisingly brisk pace. She could handle herself alright. She was tough.

Neji flattened his chest against her back and started to relax. "But once we get back to town, let me off, ok? I don't want to be seen like this."

"I understand." She kept walking, never stopping to look at him. "I'm taking you to Naruto's place, ok?"

"I figured as much." He curled his arms up between her back and his chest and buried his nose behind them. "Thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Please review! ^-^


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23:**

Back at Naruto's apartment, things were relatively quiet. Tenten and Lee were still with Gai to finish training and coming up with an excuse for why Neji wasn't with them. That left Naruto to take care of the two cats by himself. That was easy seeing as how the both of them were fast asleep on the warm futon on the floor.

Naruto sat back and looked out the window. Dark clouds were starting to gather outside blocking out the sun. It was going to rain any time now. It was a good thing both the cats were inside. He could only imagine how they would react if they were caught in it. They would probably scream and cower behind someone. Naruto didn't mind the rain too much. Sometimes he found it cleansing, other times he found it depressing. But most of the time, it made him feel bored and want to take a nap.

Neji gave a soft snore and curled into a tighter ball at Naruto's feet. Naruto reached down and stroked his hair. Neji smiled at his touch.

Naruto smiled back. _He must be having a really good sleep_… He looked over at Sasuke who was beginning to gnaw on his pillow. _He must be dreaming about fish or something_.

Sasuke hugged the pillow closer to his face and took a big bite out of it, soaking it with his drool. "Mmm… fish…" He licked his lips and went back to nibbling on it.

_I knew it_, Naruto shook his head at the thought.

A loud crash from outside startled him. It was starting to thunder. It rumbled in the distance before clapping loudly once again, rattling his windows.

Both Neji and Sasuke woke with a start and bolted upright in the futon. They looked wildly around, Sasuke still with the pillow in his mouth. Another crash sent the two scrambling behind Naruto for safety.

"Wh- what was that?" Sasuke shivered.

"That was thunder, you moron," Neji answered.

Sasuke shot him a look. "Hey, _moron_, I'm not the only one who went ducking in cover, you know."

"I was just-"

Another crash shut them both up immediately and they both went back to hiding behind Naruto. Sasuke put his hands on Naruto's shoulder and peered over from behind his back. Neji did the same. They were frightened of the storm.

"What's with you guys?" Naruto tried to get them to come out of hiding, but they wouldn't. "It's only thunder. You never had a problem with it before."

"We don't."

"Then why are you guys hiding behind my back?"

Neji looked down at himself shamefully. "No reason. I was just…"

Lightning flashed followed by the telltale crash of thunder. They both hid their faces in his spine, frightened. The storm really was bothering them.

"Should I get you guys some catnip?"

"NO!" they shouted in unison.

"Ok, ok, jeez… You don't have to bite my head off."

Another crash and the two hugged Naruto close.

"Yeah…" His left eye twitched. "This isn't awkward at all…"

"Naruto…" Sasuke whimpered. "Isn't there anything you could do to make it stop?"

"Yeah," Neji agreed. "At least muffle the noise, please? I- I've never felt like this before."

Naruto raised a brow at the two of them. "You've never been scared before?"

"Not of a storm and certainly not like this."

Thunder crashed again and Neji dug his nails into Naruto's sides.

"Please…"

This was amazing. He had never seen them like this before. Not even when they saw a dog. This was priceless. He had every intension to taunt and tease them about this, but one look at their terrified faces prevented him from doing so. They were just too pathetic. Instead, he put an arm around both of them and tried to comfort them as best as he could. This was all very awkward.

"Um… There, there?"

Another flash of lightning and a roll of loud thunder sent the two running for cover under the couch.

Naruto got up and looked out the window. It had started to pour rain now. It came down like tiny comets and crashed against the ground and rooftops. Buckets left outside were now filled with rainwater. But the rain never let up, causing the water to go cascading over and flood the alleys and streets. Passersby caught up in the sudden downpour were forced to run for cover under the nearest roof. Children playing ninja and other kid games came running from every direction to get to their homes as quickly as possible, giggling and screaming as they got soaked. A loud crash of thunder sent one little girl jumping up with a shriek, startled by the sudden crash and picked up the pace. There was no time for the little boys to push each other down in the mud the way they normally would had it not been for the thunder. They knew when it was time to go home and dry off.

Naruto craned his neck to look straight up at the dark sky. He pressed his face against the glass, fogging it up with his warm breath. "Man, it's really coming down now…" He looked over to the couch and saw two pairs of legs sticking out. He frowned. "You guys look ridiculous."

"We feel ridiculous!" a voice shouted from under the couch.

"Then come out of there."

"Once the storm stops, we will!"

He rolled his eyes and sat down on the very couch they were cowering under. The heavy rain pounded against his window and the hard winds rattled the glass. The loud thunder shook the tiny apartment and the lightning flashed more frequently. Naruto didn't mind too much. The thing he minded the most were the two clinging to his legs from under the couch.

At the next flash of lightning, the door swung open and in stepped both Lee and Tenten. They were soaking wet from the rain. The umbrella closed in Tenten's hand was turned inside out from the wind, rendering it useless to her.

"Where are the two of them?" Lee asked, looking around.

Naruto wordlessly pointed to the floor where their legs could be found sticking out.

Lee walked over and gave Neji's ankle a pull, dragging him out from his hiding place. He dug his nails into the wooden floor boards leaving claw marks behind, marking where he had been dragged. Naruto wasn't too happy about that either.

"I thought you were stuck," Lee told him.

"I wasn't stuck! I was hiding!"

"Hiding from what?"

As he opened his mouth to answer, another clap of thunder cut him off and he jumped into Lee's arms, clinging to his body.

"Neji?!" Lee staggered, trying to keep his balance. "Neji, you are shaking…"

He was. He was shaking uncontrollably in Lee's arms, scared to death of the storm.

Tenten smiled sympathetically and came over to stroke Neji's back. "Poor guy… The storm scares you."

"Don't treat me like a baby, Tenten. I'm well aware of the situation and what effect it has on me."

Sasuke came out of hiding and poked his head around curiously. "Is the storm over yet? Please tell me there's no more thunder."

"I can't say for sure. Maybe."

Sasuke crawled out from under the couch and gave a look around. He carefully turned his head this way and that to get a better listen. The rain was still heavy, but there was no thunder. Maybe it was over after all. Then there was a sudden loud crash that sent Sasuke springing straight up in the air and then into Naruto's lap. Neji hid his face in Lee's chest with a yelp. It wasn't over yet.

"Neji…"

He looked into Lee's face with a frightened scowl. "I don't mean to do this, you know. It just happens. So I would appreciate it if we never spoke of this again, got it?"

Lee nodded. "Right. I will never mention to anyone how you were hugging me close for comfort during a storm with a frightened look on your face. My lips are sealed."

"You don't have to say it like that, you know…" Neji muttered.

This couldn't go on. Tenten looked around for something to distract them with. Since catnip was out of the question, she tried cat toys instead. She tried dangling a string in front of Neji's face but he wouldn't fall for it.

"Tenten!" Naruto cried as Sasuke dug his nails into his ribs. "Could you forget about Neji and help me out over here? It's really starting to hurt!"

"Just make the storm stop and I will!" Sasuke buried his face in Naruto's chest. "It's the loud thunder that's scaring me! I had no idea that cats were like this with storms!"

"Some are, I guess…"

"I feel like an idiot," Sasuke grumbled.

"Imagine how I feel," Neji added. "I'm doing it, too, you know."

Tenten snapped her fingers. "I've got it!" She ran off into the next room. There were a couple of clunking noises before she came back into the room carrying something in her arms. "A scratching post!"

"What are we going to do with that?" Naruto asked while trying to keep Sasuke's nails from tearing into his skin. "Knock them out?"

"No." She set the post down by her feet. "Maybe if they use it, it will take their minds off the storm. It's worth a shot, right?"

"No offense, Tenten…" Lee called over Neji's head. "But I do not think that this plan of yours is going to work. It is a real stretch."

"Just try it. Bring him over here." Tenten sat down behind the scratching post and waited.

Lee came over with Neji in his arms and sat down next to the post. Neji didn't even raise his head to look. Tenten reached out and took Neji's hand in hers. She pried it off Lee's jumpsuit and guided it over to the scratching post. She moved his hand over the carpet-like material in a downward motion. Neji's head lifted slightly at the odd sensation. It felt odd, like touching a rough carpet or very wet sandpaper. He looked and saw Tenten moving his hand along the scratching post.

She gave him a smile. "See? Doesn't that feel good?"

He gave no answer.

"Try curling your fingers, ok?"

He did so as she moved his hand downward again. His fingernails made soft scrapping noises as they ran across the material. It felt weird. He could feel the vibrations run from his nails up his fingers and into his palm. It was almost like a tiny massage for his hand. Not only that, but his nails were getting sharper. Smaller, too. He moved off of Lee's lap and started to scratch the other side with his left hand. Tenten released her grip and allowed Neji to explore the scratching post on his own.

He seemed to like it. He moved his nails across the rough material, sharpening his nails. He really liked it.

Hearing the scraping noises, Sasuke turned his head for a better look. He spotted the scratching post and was overcome with a strong desire to tear it up. He climbed down from Naruto's shoulders and crept over to Neji and the odd post. He sat down across from Neji and started to scratch it from the other side. As his nails began to rip the thing apart, a small smile found its way onto his face.

"You like it, huh?"

Sasuke didn't answer Naruto's voice. He was too engrossed in scratching to hear him. Within a few minutes, the two had completely forgotten about the storm.

Lee folded his arms with a little nod. "Huh… I stand corrected."

~*~*~

At last, the storm had calmed considerably. The lightning had ceased and the thunder flowed suit leaving nothing but the pitter-patter of the rain. Sasuke and Neji were sitting by the windowsill watching it fall before their eyes. It was very relaxing.

Sasuke folded his hands and continued to watch the rain as he spoke to Neji. "Hey, Neji…"

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking."

"And?"

He rested his head against the window, fogging the glass up with his breath. "But this whole cat thing… and about finding a cure…"

"Yeah?"

He sighed heavily. "I've decided to give up."

Neji pulled his eyes away from the window and onto Sasuke. "What?"

"I decided not to bother with finding a cure anymore. There's no point. If the cure was out there, we would have found it by now. Besides… Shino said it himself. Those idiots at that lab never bothered to make one. There's no point anymore in even trying to find it. I give up."

Neji just stared at him. "You… give up? Just like that?"

"It wasn't just like that. Do you have any idea how much I had to take and how much time it took me to figure this out? I'm not going to cling to false hopes anymore. It's pointless. I give up. I guess we're going to be cats for the rest of our lives and there's nothing we can do about it."

Neji folded his arms and turned completely around to face him, giving Sasuke his full attention. "Perhaps you have a point, but I never thought I'd hear you say it. I never thought I'd see the day when you would give up." They had endured a lot. Sasuke was right when he said that he hadn't come to that decision 'just like that'. It took a lot to convince him that it was the right choice. There really was no point in clinging to false hopes knowing full well that there was no cure out there for them. Perhaps he was right.

Sasuke stretched out his body with a huge yawn and curled up into a ball by the window.

"Tired?"

He nodded. "I'm going to sleep. Do the same if you want." He closed his eyes.

The sound of the falling rain was lulling Neji to sleep as well, but he was still feeling uneasy about Sasuke's decision. He was giving up. He accepted the possibility that they would never be cured and had to spend the rest of their lives as cats. Neji moved closer to Sasuke for warmth, their futon on the other side of the room and them being too lazy to fetch it.

Neji placed his chin atop Sasuke's back, using him as a pillow. "So what's the plan after this?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke's voice sounded distant and tired.

"Since you said that we're going to be like this forever, what should we do? Should we start telling everyone about our condition?"

"No, hold off on that. I don't want Sakura to find out. I told you before. She has a major crush on me and finding out that I'm part cat is only going to make things that much worse. Imagine how she'd react once she sees how I get when someone gives me yarn or how I rub my body against anyone who brings me fish. She'd have a field day if she sees my reaction to catnip. I'll never be rid of her."

"Good point." Neji snuggled closer, closing his eyes. "But are we really going to stay here at Naruto's for the rest of our lives?"

It took a few second for Sasuke to answer. "No… We'll figure it out…" He was half asleep already. He buried his face in his arms and started snoring.

Neji tucked his arms and legs under his body and curled into a ball, still using Sasuke as his personal pillow. They had grown closer over this past week somehow. Now Neji could call Sasuke his friends. They had the same condition and were forced to spend a lot of time together as a result. Being a cat wouldn't be so bad. Neji had already gone through the positives. He was less stressed out, calmer and could be as lazy as he pleased. Maybe this would work out after all.

But tomorrow was another day. Maybe things would become clearer for them.

* * *

Please review! ^-^

I'm ending it in a couple of chapters so enjoy until then!


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: **

The rain had come to a stop and the birds had returned to their songs. The younger children slapped on their boots and ran outside to play in the large puddles outside their houses. But not everyone in the village was awake yet. It was a given that people like Shikamaru were still in bed, but then there were the unlikely people like Rock Lee who were still asleep at this hour. Naruto was sleeping in as well, but he normally did that when he had nothing better to do. Neji and Sasuke were still asleep as well, a blanket tossed carefully over them by Tenten at some point in the night to keep them warm. Now they were both tangled in it as well as in their own limbs. But they could care less as long as they were both comfortable.

Tenten finished setting the table and stood back to admire her work. She had gotten up bright and early to make the boys a delicious breakfast and was ready to hear how she did. She picked up a pan and a skillet and prepared to wake them.

"Breakfast!" she hollered and clashed the metal objects in her hands together. "Get up! Up, up, up! Breakfast, come on!"

The loud clanging sent Naruto diving under his pillow. He threw it over his head and tried to block out the racket. Tenten could never wake them up gently, could she?

"Come on, time to eat!" She banged them together again, making Naruto's ears ring.

"Ok! Ok, we're coming!" he shouted over the noise into the kitchen. He swung his legs out over the side of the bed and stepped on Lee's torso. "Gah! Lee, what are you doing down there? Are you trying to get crushed?"

Lee sat up in his sleeping bag with a horrible bed-head. His dark hair was sticking out in all directions and slightly curled in places. "Sorry, Naruto… Did I startle you?"

"Surprised me a little. Why are you so close to my bed? And in a sleeping bag? I have a couch, you know."

"Yes, I know." He yawned. "But Tenten had taken it and I did not want to be rude so I slept in here."

"So she stayed here overnight? What for?"

"Just in case those two needed her help. She seems to know a lot about cats. Maybe she owns one."

Tenten's voice shouted again from the other room. "I'm not going to call you guys again! Breakfast! Get in here! It's time to eat!"

The promise of food was enough for them. Lee and Naruto got up in a hurry and rushed to the kitchen. On his way to his seat, Naruto noticed that the two ninja cats hadn't gotten up yet. They were still nestled together in a ball, covered by a thick blanket. That must have been why they weren't up yet. The blanket protected their ears from the pots clanging together.

Lee took his seat at the table and picked up his chopsticks, ready to dig in. Before Naruto took his, he grabbed a large pot from the counter and a wooden spoon and crept up to the bundle in the corner.

Neji and Sasuke were sleeping quite peacefully and deeply hidden under the soft blanket. It was nice and warm inside their quilted igloo, cocooned in the soft material. Neji was lying on his side, nose buried under Sasuke's arm. Sasuke's legs were tangled in Neji's and his face was mere inches from Neji's head. Neji stretched and yawned widely before resting his head back down on Sasuke's shoulder. His slow deep breaths blew Sasuke's hair a little, tickling his neck and making him chuckle softly. But neither one of them was planning on waking up anytime soon. It was nice just to sleep in, even if that was all they did as a couple of cats.

Naruto squatted down over the lumps under the blanket and held the pot over the round lumps he recognized as their heads and raised the spoon. Using the pot as a gong, he hammered away at it with the spoon, freaking both cats out. Sasuke leapt straight up with a yowl and clung to the ceiling upside-down. Neji got himself tangled up even further in the blanket, preventing his escape. So instead he ran around the room with his face covered by the blanket until he tripped and slammed into a kitchen chair and got himself tangled up in that as well. Tenten and Lee rushed to help him while Naruto hung back and laughed. That was a riot in his opinion.

Sasuke jumped down from the ceiling and gave Naruto a swipe across the face. "Not funny, you jerk!"

"Ow!" Naruto held his face in pain. "That hurt!"

"It was meant to."

Naruto looked at his hand, checking for blood. There was none.

The two sat down at the table, Sasuke determined to get to his seat first. He did and got his food before Naruto. Tenten had made them eggs, toast and pancakes. Her eggs were great and her pancakes were even better; light, fluffy and buttery. Lee slathered his in even more butter and Naruto drowned his in syrup. Tenten sat down and ate hers with butter, light syrup and fresh strawberries. Sasuke and Neji ate their's as they came. It wasn't fish, but they ate it just the same and liked it. Sasuke held his plate up to his face and licked off the extra butter. Neji drained his glass and asked for more milk. Sasuke raised his glass and asked the same.

~*~*~

After breakfast, things got a little interesting. And by interesting, that meant troublesome. Both teams had been called off on missions and they couldn't be turned down. Reluctantly, both groups parted ways and joined up with their sensei. Both teams departed from the village and went in different directions.

Kakashi's mission was simple enough. All they had to do was chase off a small group of bandits. They weren't very powerful so it should be easy enough to beat them. Gai's team had to go to a farm to put up a fence and find whoever kept tormenting the livestock. Both missions were simple enough, but they would have much rather been sitting at home doing their own thing.

Gai's team got to work right away, hammering up the fence. Tenten held the wooden boards while Lee and Neji hammered away. Neji was getting bored rather quickly, but he pushed himself onward knowing that the sooner they finished, the sooner they would get to go home.

"Next," Lee said and Tenten held up the next board. Neji held a nail in place while Lee picked up the hammer. "How are you holding up, Neji?"

"Bored out of my mind."

"Do not worry. We are almost done."

"We only just started."

"I know. I was just trying to make you feel better."

Neji turned away bitterly.

"Would a scratch under your chin make you feel better?"

"Get away from me."

Tenten sighed. This was only the beginning and she knew that all too well. "Neji, if you get restless, you could always chase chickens or something. We are on a farm, after all."

He snorted. "Dogs chase chickens. Cats are too dignified for that."

"Says the person who was chasing balls of yarn around."

His face turned pink. "Shut up."

~*~*~

"Naruto, on your right!"

"Got it!" Naruto jumped to the side to box in the small group of bandits. It didn't take very long to find them. They had basic weapons and none of them were ninja which meant that there was no danger of them using jutsus. But that didn't mean that Team Kakashi couldn't.

Sakura was already setting up a trap not too far ahead. But her trap could only contain about five people and they all had to be in the same place at the same time. Kakashi had instructed the boys to chase the bandits toward the trap.

Another knife came at Naruto's head from one of the bandits. Sasuke grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back out of the way. He dragged him behind bushes and broke into a dead run.

"Naruto, try to stay out of the way."

"Hey, I could have dodged it if I wanted to. It was all part of my plan, that's all." He really had no plan at all.

"A plan to get yourself killed maybe. But that's not what I was talking about."

Naruto tried to pull his arm back but Sasuke had a good solid grip on him. "Then what were you talking about?"

Sasuke ducked behind a tall tree, pulling Naruto down with him. "I meant that I was going to try to use catfist on him."

Naruto pulled his hand free. "What?! But I thought that something had to trigger it."

"Uh-huh." Sasuke cautiously peered around the tree trunk. "That's why I'm going in. Maybe if I'm in danger or in a fight like what happened with Lee, I'll start fighting."

"Great. Go kill yourself. Meanwhile, I'll be back here thinking of a way we could work together as a team and go with Sakura's plan with the trap that she just so happens to _have set, ready and waiting for us over there_!"

Sasuke glared at him. "As long as I have this power, I should use it. Now stay out of my way." He jumped out from behind the tree and charged in.

Naruto peered out from his hiding spot to watch. _He's a dead man_…

Sasuke dove right in swinging his fists. He nailed one man in the face and kicked another in the gut. Maybe he didn't need catfist after all. He was doing great like this. That was until a bandit with a club nailed him from behind. The blow sent Sasuke down but not out. But luckily it did seem to have triggered something in him to snap for he had gotten to his feet and hissed. He ran at them on all fours and jumped high above their heads. He landed on one man's chest and started to claw away at his face with his sharpened nails.

Another bandit came to his aid, but failed in hitting Sasuke. Instead, Sasuke did a back flip through the air and slapped the man across the face before scratching at his chest with his other hand. He kicked him away and went on to the next victim.

Naruto watched the whole thing, safely hidden behind the tree. "Glad that's not me…"

Sasuke was on a rampage. As soon as he slashed one across the face, he went straight to another one and did the same. He didn't give them a chance to recover. He wasn't going to stop until he was the last one left standing. The bandit with the club tried to clock him again, but this time Sasuke was ready for it. He turned around and split the club clean in two with his bare hands. Then he jumped up and kicked him in the chest with both legs. Another bandit pulled out a knife, but Sasuke bit his wrist and jerked the blade from his hand. Another one tried the same but got slashed across the face by Sasuke's sharp nails before he even had a chance.

The lead bandit reached for another weapon only to discover that he was all out. All the weapons he had carried were now either broken or knocked aside by Sasuke. He had nothing to fight with but his bare fists.

One of his comrades grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away. "Let's get out of here, boss. That kid's crazy!"

Sasuke crouched on all fours and hissed, hair standing straight up.

"That freak thinks he's a freaking cat!"

"I agree," said another. "Let's get out of here."

The lead bandit made a split second decision. "Fine, you win." He whistled for the others to follow.

Those who could walk scrambled to their feet and ran after their boss while the others limped or crawled away before getting help from the less injured bandits.

Sasuke wasn't finished. If they could still move, that meant that they could still fight. With a yowl, he gave chase on all fours, running towards Sakura's trap. The bandits were heading right for it as planned but with Sasuke on their heels, that meant that he would fall into it, too.

Naruto jumped out of his hiding place and ran after him. "Sasuke, wait! Don't go that way! Get back here! Sasuke!"

He wasn't listening. Naruto wondered if Sasuke could even hear his voice anymore. He just kept running. And as long as the bandits were in earshot, Naruto couldn't warn Sasuke of the trap without alerting them as well. All he could do was chase after him and hope to catch up in time.

"Sasuke!"

Up ahead, Sakura was waiting up in a tree above the trap she had set moments before. _They sure are taking their time. What's going on? At this rate_… Sakura sighed, running low on patience. _If they're still fighting them off, we won't need this trap at all. They would have already done the work and I did this for nothing_.

Just then she heard screaming and saw rustling in the bushes and tall grass. The bandits were coming this way!

"Finally!" She hid herself in the thick branches and waited.

Naruto jumped over a large rock, keeping up with Sasuke the whole time. But he was always just out of his reach. If he could just get close enough…

"Sasuke!"

Just then a pink blur came right out of the corner of his eyes and flew towards Sasuke. Naruto skidded to a halt and watched.

The pink object soared right across Sasuke's field of vision and rolled to the left. Curious, Sasuke stopped and looked. It was just what he didn't expect to find all the way out here. It was a ball of yarn. Meowing happily, Sasuke skipped over to the yarn and started to play with it, forgetting all about the bandits.

Kakashi jumped down from a tall tree and landed next to Naruto. "You know," he said. "Now that he's like this, you might want to consider carrying a supply of those on hand just in case."

Naruto knew that Kakashi was aware of Sasuke's condition, but he still couldn't help but be mildly shocked.

Sasuke meowed and pawed at the yarn ball happily. He batted it back and forth from hand to hand, rolled over it and bit it. He was having fun.

A sudden crash sounded in the distance, telling them that the trap had worked. The loud noise snapped Sasuke out of his cat state and he stood up, dropping the yarn at his feet.

Kakashi nodded and started to walk in that direction. "Sounds like the trap was a success. Let's go see what happened."

All the bandits were trapped in a deep narrow hole in the ground with Sakura standing above them looking triumphant. "See? I told you it would work! What do you think?" She hopped up and down like a child, quite pleased with herself.

Kakashi nodded. "Good work. Are they all accounted for?"

"Yup!"

Sasuke kept his distance. It was unclear why he was, but Naruto had a feeling that it had to do with embarrassment in some way. Or maybe he was just upset that Kakashi not only knew about his condition but also knew how to deal with it. Either way, Sasuke didn't look happy.

~*~*~

Back at the farm, Team Gai was just about finished with their project. The fence was put and looking great. The livestock were still in the barn finishing their meal of hay and oats. All they had to do now was let them out to roam the fenced in area and find out what had been terrorizing them to begin with. It might just be a fox or something along those lines.

Tenten finished putting away all the nails and hammer and straightened up, looking around. "Hey, Lee, do you know where Neji went to? I can't seem to find him."

"He said that he was going off to stretch his legs or something like that, I think."

They heard screaming and looked up. Neji was running as fast as he could away from a black sheepdog.

"Oh, no…" Tenten moaned.

Neji was heading right for them, screaming his head off. "Help me! Help me! Get it away! Help!" He ran at them at top speed and jumped. No one had time to react. Neji slammed into Lee, knocking him backwards through the fence they had only just finished putting together. He landed on Lee in a pile of broken pieces of wood and nails, still shaking uncontrollably.

The black dog lost interest and trotted away.

Neji clung to Lee's chest, trembling from head to toe. It was going to take a little while to calm him down.

In the meantime, Tenten pulled out another stack of wood and the bucket of nails and a hammer. "Let's try this again. Maybe we'll finish by sunset."

* * *

Poor people…

Next one is the last chapter! It all comes down to this!

Please review! ^-^


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25:**

It took longer than expected but finally the fence was finished. Hopefully it would stay that way as long as Neji didn't go crashing through it again. But their mission wasn't over yet. They still had to find out what was terrorizing the livestock. The new fence would keep out dogs and foxes, but if there was something bigger, then they would have to confront it themselves.

They released the cattle into the field and waited to see what would happen.

"If it is a predator, then it would make more sense to wait until nightfall when they are more likely to come out," Lee was saying. But it wasn't like they had that kind of time. It was already sunset.

Neji's ear twitched. "Did you hear that?"

Tenten cupped her hands behind her ears for a better listen. It sounded like children. Then she heard the loud mooing of one of the cows and saw one running along the side of the fence towards them. She motioned for the team to follow her.

They found who the predators were. Three young children between the ages of 7 and 8 were throwing rocks at the cows and jeering at them when they moved away or mooed.

_How cruel!_ Tenten thought. _You'd think their parents would teach them better_. Rather than lector them like just another adult, she decided to scare them a little in order to get their attention. She summoned up a whip chain and cracked it at their feet. The children jumped back out of the way. Tenten and her team stood between them and the fence. "Just what do you think you guys are doing?"

One stuck out his tongue at her while the other two gave her glares like little brats.

"These are poor defenseless cows you are torturing," Lee said. "You cannot do that. The farmer is not pleased with this kind of behavior."

"So what?" one of them said. "It's fun."

"Yeah," said another. "What are you going to do about it?"

"You people don't even live here."

They stood their ground.

To test their patience, one of the boys threw another rock. Lee caught it in his hand with ease. The boy stuck out his tongue and glared at him.

"Enough of this already," Neji told the boys. "Now no more throwing stones or anything at these animals again, understand?"

He received a swift kick to the shin by the boy. Neji hissed and the kid backed off.

"We mean it," Lee said to them. "This is a very cruel game you three are playing. Find a nicer one, ok?"

"Bite me!" snapped one.

Neji showed his teeth. "With pleasure…" The kid backed away slowly.

Tenten stroked Neji's back to calm him. "Listen, it's a cruel thing you three are doing so we would like it to stop, ok?"

"You're not our boss! Besides, there's nothing else to do around here."

"Then find something better than this," Neji said.

To be a smart aleck, the same boy kicked Neji in the leg for the second time. This time, however, he reflexively scratched the kid across the face. The kid stumbled back, dazed. He lifted his hand to his cheek and felt something wet run down his hand. He looked at his fingers. A thin trickle of blood had run down his fingertip and onto his palm. He was bleeding. Neji had drawn blood. He turned his head so the others could see. It was only a small cut compared to what a kunai could do, but it was enough to freak them out. In their panic, the boys had a hasty retreat, calling for their mothers.

Tenten put her hands on her hips. "Neji..!"

He pouted, getting a lecture. "Hey, you had a whip chain."

"Yeah, but I didn't use it on them."

"I'm sorry! It slipped."

She rolled her eyes and scratched him behind the ear. "Well, at least they won't be coming back here for a while. Let's go find Gai-sensei."

~*~*~

With the bandits taken care of, Team Kakashi took a well deserved rest back in the small village. The man who had hired them for the job allowed them to stay the night, meals included, and they had access to everything he had. That included the shower which Sakura was using at the moment. Naruto had already used it a few minutes earlier and still had the towel draped around his shoulders.

Cleaning out his ears with the tip of the towel, Naruto wandered into the next room where Sasuke and Kakashi were. He dropped the towel when he saw what they were doing. Kakashi was sitting on the floor dangling a piece of string over Sasuke's head. Sasuke was on his knees batting at it playfully. But Kakashi always managed to pull it out of his reach before he could get a hold of it.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto whined.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Why are you doing that?"

He gave the string another tug and Sasuke fell on his face. "It's fun."

"Well, stop it!" Naruto made a grab for the string at the same time Kakashi pulled it away. Soon he was in the same keep-away game as Sasuke. "Come on, Kakashi-sensei! Be nice!"

"Come on, I'm not tormenting him… Unlike what you were doing to him before."

"You knew about that? Were you spying on me?"

"I didn't have to. Nothing goes unnoticed by me."

"So you're saying you know everything I do?" He made another grab for the string.

"Yup." Kakashi pulled it away.

"Ok, what did I have for breakfast this morning?"

"More ramen."

Naruto imitated the sound of a buzzer. "Wrong! I had pancakes and eggs. Tenten made them."

"Ooh… Had a girl in our house, did we?"

"It's not what you think! She just came over to help out a little. That's all!"

"That's all?"

"Yeah!" He grabbed for the string again, Sasuke watching his every move curiously. "She slept over!"

Kakashi raised a brow. "Oh, did she really? You had a pretty girl sleep at your place last night?"

Naruto's face was burning. "Sh- shut up! It's not like that! I was doing it with Neji and Sasuke, too!"

Kakashi's eyes got a little bigger and he stifled his snickers.

The young ninja backtracked in his mind to figure out what his sensei was laughing about. Then he came to the words 'doing it with' and his face turned bright red. "That's not what I meant and you know it! Shut UP! It came out all wrong!"

"Naruto, I had no idea you were that kind of man…"

"Shut UP! SHUT UP!" His face was the reddest it had ever been. "It's not like that! Lee was there! He saw the whole thing! He was watching- Wait, don't twist that into something, too!"

Kakashi was still waving the string around with a smile on his face behind the mask. He was enjoying this.

Losing his temper, Naruto jumped on him. "Give me that string!" He wrestled with Kakashi for it. Thinking this was still part of the game, Sasuke climbed on top of the pile and sat on Naruto's back. "Get off, Sasuke! I'm not playing!" Sasuke meowed and purred. "Idiot…"

They wrestled and pulled and did escape jutsus on each other until it was time for the fun to end. Naruto pushed Sasuke aside and made a mad dive for the string. "Give me that!"

As he jumped, Kakashi stepped to the side causing Naruto to slammed face-first into the wall behind him. Kakashi stood in front of the door unharmed. Temper at the boiling level, Naruto lost it and threw his backpack at his sensei. Kakashi ducked as the door opened. Sakura came in and was greeted with a backpack to her face. The heavy bag sent her sliding down the hall and into a plant, getting her clean hair all muddy from the soil.

Back in the room, Naruto was frozen with fear and Sasuke had hidden himself under a chair for safety. Kakashi, however, was as amused as ever.

A very angry Sakura stormed down the hall and stuck her muddy head into the room. Her face was red from rage and from having a heavy backpack tossed at her head. She was fuming and hounding for blood.

Kakashi calmly pointed at Naruto. "He did it."

She cracked her knuckles and charged in.

"Sakura, wait! I-"

"You IDIOT!" She punched him so hard he was sent through the glass window and into the mud outside. "CHAA!"

Kakashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think the owner of the house is going to be very pleased about that."

~*~*~

Now that it was after sunset, there was little point in going all the way back to the village now. They may as well stay at the farm until morning. Gai's team unrolled their sleeping bags in the barn. They would have much rather been inside the large farmhouse, but they were lucky to get this. It sure beat having to set up a tent, at least. While Gai talked things over with the farmer, the team got settled in their sleeping bags. Neji was out before his head hit the pillow. He lay curled up in a ball in the middle of his sleeping bag. Tenten and Lee remained sitting awake in theirs.

"So I take it that the farmer is aware of those children?" Lee questioned.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, after we told Gai, he went to tell the farmer. He's going to have a talk with their folks."

"I hate that cruel game of theirs. You would think that their parents would teach them better."

"Maybe they picked it up on their own. Sometimes it's not the parent's fault."

"Very true…"

"Still…" Tenten cast her gaze down to Neji in his sleeping bag. "He almost performed catfist on them, didn't he?"

Lee smiled sympathetically at his teammate and rival. All this time he had been trying to best him in battle, proving that hard work could beat genius. Would this catfist technique change things? Would it change the outcome of their battle? Now that Neji was in this state, catfist would pop up and take control over him whenever he was in danger. And catfist wasn't something he had achieved with genius. It was a result of a potion. Did that count in their fight? It was a silly thing to think about, but that was the main thing on Lee's mind at this time.

"So he is going to stay this way forever, right?"

Tenten tickled Neji's ear. "I think so. There's no cure for it, is there?"

"Not that they know of."

"Then it's a good possibility." Tenten got under her sleeping bag. "It's just something we're going to have to get used to, I guess."

Lee got into his sleeping bag, too. "Good night, Tenten!" he said rather loudly.

Tenten put a finger to her lips. "Shh! We don't want to wake him."

"Oh, right, sorry," he whispered.

At that moment, Gai threw open the doors of the barn and stepped inside. "Hello, everyone! What a lovely evening this is! Want to look at the stars with me?!"

Neji sprang up in his sleeping bag with a start.

"Gai-sensei!" the two scolded.

He backed off. "What? Too loud?"

~*~*~

Naruto striped off his jacket and hung it out on the line outside the house. It was soaked with mud from his trip out the window. He really didn't want to take another shower. He would have to wait, anyway. After sending him out the window, Sakura went right back into the bathroom to clean herself up again. Naruto cursed out loud and tried to clean himself off as best he could outside.

Sasuke had come out to see what he was doing. He sat in the grass and watched him.

"Quit staring at me!" Naruto growled. He was in no mood for this.

"Sorry. I was just seeing what you were up to." He saw something sparkle in Naruto's hair. Sasuke got up and moved over to him. "Wait, hold still."

"What?"

Sasuke held Naruto's head down with one hand while combing through his hair with the other. "You have a shard of glass in your hair." He picked it out for him. "There."

"Thanks."

Sasuke tossed it onto the pile of glass behind him in front of the broken window. "She really nailed you good."

"Shut it…"

He turned back around and looked Naruto up and down. He was standing in his black T-shirt and his muddy pants. His jacket on the line was worse off than his pants were. He was covered in the colors brown, orange and red. Red? Sasuke took a step closer for a better look. There was a thin line of red going down Naruto's cheek.

"Naruto, your face is bleeding."

"I figured it was." Naruto rubbed his cheek, smearing the blood. "It's not that bad, though."

Without warning, Sasuke was upon him. He held Naruto's shoulder for support and leaned in close to his face. He stuck out his tongue and licked his wound.

"Sasuke..!" He wriggled around, trying to get away. "Stop that!"

Sasuke licked him again. "I can't help it. You're inured. I have to do it."

"But why?"

"I just do, ok? Now hold still so I can finish faster."

Knowing that there was little else he could do, Naruto stood still and let Sasuke finish. He could feel his warm, wet tongue as it glided over his flesh, cleaning off the fresh blood on his face. It was very creepy and weird-feeling, but he let it happen anyway. He just wished that Sasuke would hurry up and finish before he was scared for life.

Later that night, after everyone was washed and full, they all got into their sleeping bags in front of the fireplace. The orange and yellow flames danced and flickered, slowly turning the wood to ashes. Just as Naruto had predicted, Sasuke was the first one to turn in. He was laying on his side, curled up in a fetal position on top of his sleeping bag, the light from the fireplace making him glow a little. He looked nice and warm. He was only using the sleeping bag for a soft bed; he was using the fireplace for heat. But as the heat from the fire warmed his sleeping bag, Sasuke slowly started to stretch out, feeling more comfortable and warm.

Sakura smiled at him. She just couldn't get over how cute he was being. Knowing that it would be safe now that he was sleeping, Sakura ran her fingers through his hair. He purred.

"Oh, he's just so cute!" she whispered to herself, trying very hard not to squeal out loud and wake him up.

Naruto grinned back. He really was cute. _I guess we just have to get used to it_…

~*~*~

The next morning, both teams gathered their stuff and went back home. They both met up at the village gates and greeted each other. Sakura and the two senseis left soon after.

This was going to be an awkward new life they would have to lead from now on. Nothing but fish, long naps and catnip. It wasn't so bad, but it would still take some getting used to. How were they going to do this?

To look on the bright side, Naruto was willing to buy the two some shrimp ramen at his favorite restaurant. The offer was turned down, however.

It was a lot to deal with. The only bright side was the fact that they had learned a new technique. Other than that, where was the plus side? Licking yourself was embarrassing. Rubbing yourself against other people's bodies was embarrassing. Eating fish all the time would get tiresome after a while. Laziness and the fact that they had gained at least seven pounds in the past week wasn't a good thing. Catnip and its effect on them was so embarrassing! Other than catfist, there really didn't seem to be a plus side anywhere that they could see.

As the group made a turn onto another street, they saw Shino watching them from the shadows. It looked as if he had been waiting for them. He stepped out into the street and over to them. "So you're back? That didn't take long."

"They were D-ranked missions."

"I see."

Naruto tapped his foot on the ground. "So, what's up? Are you just going to stand there all day and keep us guessing?"

"Do you have to tell us something? Lee asked.

"Yes, I do." Shino lifted his head, catching the light on his tinted glasses. "I found a cure."

Neji and Sasuke pushed their way to the front. "Say what?!"

"I found a cure."

Their hearts soared. They could hardly believe it. A cure? This was wonderful news!

"What is it?"

"If you're lying, I can easily rearrange your face, you know that, right?"

"I'm not lying. What would I have to gain from doing that?"

The two pressed in around him. "So where is it? Where's the cure?"

"Right here." Shino reached behind his back and pulled out Akamaru.

They shrieked and scrambled backwards in terror. Naruto grabbed Sasuke's arm and held him back. Shino advanced with the tiny dog in his hand. Sasuke tried to climb over Naruto's shoulder to get away. He had to escape. Shino forced Akamaru into Sasuke's face, pressing his furry body against his nose and mouth. Sasuke screamed and yelled. The little dog whimpered, not knowing what to think.

At last, Shino pulled the dog away and moved on to Neji. "Hold him."

Thinking that this might have been helping them in some way, Tenten and Lee held Neji down. He kicked and screamed as the dog was shoved into his face. Shino assured the dog that it was ok, and Akamaru licked Neji's lips. Neji screamed and his face went as white as a sheet, leading the others to believe that he was going to pass out at any moment.

Shino pulled Akamaru away and set him back down on the ground. "Thanks. You can go back to Kiba now. He must be worried about you, giving me such a hard time when I asked to borrow you for a minute."

Akamaru barked and scampered off.

Neji sat up spitting and gagging. He looked awful. "What the hell was that about?! Trying to scare me half to death?!"

"I was helping you."

"Helping how?!" Sasuke snapped.

"Like this." Shino pulled out a ball of yarn and rolled it out in front of them. "Fetch."

They watched the yarn ball roll, but didn't chase after it. "Your point? We're a little freaked out right now. We're not chasing it until after we calm down."

"Then how about this?" Shino handed them a cat toy.

They held it close to their faces and took a sniff. "And?"

"That has catnip in it."

"Ahh!" Sasuke threw it to the ground. "Are you crazy?!"

"No. But you are cured. Catnip has no effect on you anymore."

It was at that moment that they realized that he was right. They no longer wanted to do cat things any more. Catnip had no effect on them and they no longer wanted to play with yarn. And just to make sure, Sasuke willingly dumped his water bottle over his head. He was wet, but other than that, he felt nothing. They really were cured!

"How the hell did you do that?!"

"Dog saliva," Shino told them. "As it turns out, dog spit counters the potion's effects."

Tenten clapped her hands together. "That's brilliant! How did you ever come up with that?"

"Well, logically…" Shino told them. "I went with the opposite. Hot and cold, night and day. I figured that if you wanted to become a cat and cats are naturally afraid of dogs, the cure must be based around them somehow. After all, what cat would want to have a dog get close enough to lick them? I thought it was a good theory."

"Wait… Theory?" The two stopped their celebration early. "You mean you really had no idea if that was going to cure us or not?"

"I had a strong theory that I could support."

"But if that didn't work, then that means that…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That would mean that you would have shoved a dog into our faces and scared the living daylights out of us for nothing!"

"Or a cheap laugh, but I'm not that kind of person."

While Sasuke was venting his rage, Neji had been backing himself slowly away from the rest of the group to beat himself up. He felt like a real idiot.

Tenten rubbed his back. "What's wrong? I thought you'd be happy."

"I'm relieved that we're cured, but I feel like such an idiot!" He buried his face in his hands with a frustrated moan. "Do you have any idea how much we could have avoided if we had only known?! I mean, our mission right after taking that stupid potion involved us going to a dog show! All I would have had to do was get one of them to lick me and it all would have been over! I feel so stupid! That's all it took?! Seriously?! It's so simple!"

"Most solutions genuinely are," Shino said as calmly as ever.

Sasuke cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna kill you!"

"Why? I found the cure, didn't I? If I hadn't, you would still be in your cat state."

"I know!" Sasuke barked. "But I'm still really pissed off!"

"Typical misplaced aggression. You're angry at yourself for not seeing the answer right away and you feel the need to beat someone else up instead of yourself. Very juvenile, actually."

"Juvenile?!"

Off to the side, Kakashi had gathered up an armful of yarn balls in an attempt to entice the cats to play. But upon hearing the disappointing news from the group, he frowned and set them down on the ground. "Aw, too bad… I still wanted to have a little bit of fun… Oh, well. Can't have too much of a good thing, I guess."

~*~*~

The same woman from the beginning of the ordeal was still sitting in her place by the side of another road, coaxing over potential customers. One of them had picked up the small bottle containing a certain potion. He turned it over in his hand, curious.

"So… What, this thing come with instructions or something?" he asked rather rudely.

"Yes, it does," she answered. "It works very well, too, I might add."

"Please…" said the boy. "You expect me to believe that this tiny little container of fruit punch is supposed to help teach me a new, rare and powerful technique? I'll believe it when I see it."

"Then by all means, buy it and see for yourself."

He sneered and gave her the money. "You're lucky it's so cheap. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother with it."

"There's enough there for two if there's a friend you'd like to share it with."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. You should see the demons we have on our team, lady. They don't need any help. Trust me."

"Kankuro!" a girl called him over, as impatient as ever. "Let's go! Gaara's getting ahead of us!"

"Coming! I'm coming already, stop shouting!" He jogged over to his siblings with the bottle still in his hand.

"What the hell's that?"

"Nothing."

She groaned loudly. "I hope you didn't spend all your money on junk from that petty little street shop over there. She's selling crap from a cardboard box, for crying out loud. How good can her stuff be?"

"I'll spend my money however I like, woman!"

"Whatever…" She looked ahead to her little brother. "Hey, if he has trouble with it, you mind helping him out a little?"

The redhead turned. "Sure, I'll help him out if he needs it."

"Hey, Gaara, this thing has enough for two if you want to try. I know she won't."

"Sure. What harm could it do?"

* * *

THE END!

It's over! I had to end it, but I wanted it to go on just a little bit more…

Can you picture Gaara and Kankuro as kitty-cats? XD That would be great!

Thanks for reading and all the nice reviews!

Please review and thanks again! ^-^


End file.
